A Sinful Romance
by SpectrumRay16
Summary: An average sized collection of chapters, focused on the pairing up of characters that are canon or non canon in Nanatsu no taizai, AKA: The Seven Deadly Sins. I do not own Nanatsu no taizai and take no credit for the characters or pairings used.
1. A Short Story!

One upon a time, during an ordinary day at the Boar's Hat, Elizabeth Liones was practicing her skills as a barmaid. She had been working at the boar's hat for two weeks now, yet she still struggled to balance all of the plates and pints of liquor from the bar counter. She was fairly clumsy at her job, although Meliodas was very forgiving, usually yelling at Hawk to clean up the mess, which the pig did with pleasure. She was prepared to practice her daily routine for the upcoming night with a great amount of confidence she would succeed. For motivational support she had the Serpent's sin of Envy, Diane cheering her on from outside. Hawk was also supporting her, by cleaning up any mess she made during the trial run, which he was secretly hoping she would… After all Ban's food was that good!

* * *

 **Elizabeth** : " _Okay, I'm ready… let's begin!_ " she said, in her usual sweet voice. A kind and radiating tone which could only be described as sliding down a lovely silk tapestry… truly music to the ears of those around her. Her shyness, albeit combined with her lack of practice, made her reactions much cuter and much more amusing. Her routine began as any other day, she had asked King to assist her and he was more than happy to oblige, not to mention content with Diane noticing him more than usual. King was told whenever he was ready to walk through the door and he did just that after two minutes of waiting. He entered and was immediately greeted by Elizabeth.

 **Elizabeth** : " _Welcome to the Boar's Hat, please come this way!"_ she exclaimed. The pitch of her voice had risen slightly, whilst her tone had become more vibrant. Her lips elongated and a relatively large smile appeared on her face. She directed King over to the table nearest to the window which Diane was looking through, she did this so Diane was able to encourage her more… although, she did not account for King's embarrassment being placed right in front of Diane's face. Elizabeth's metaphorical lightbulb appeared above her head as she recommended Diane to join King, in order to help her out. Diane was ecstatic that she had asked her that, as King opened the window and Diane struggled momentarily to squeeze her head through. Eventually she made it through, without causing any damage to the window pane, surprising everyone who was watching.

 **Diane** : " _I may be a giant… but, I'm not THAT big. I'm only 29ft tall, remember?_ " she responded, blushing slightly as she had to explain how it was not impossible for her to fit her head through the window. Realistically Meliodas was roughly 5ft tall, in that case Diane was approximately 6 Meliodas's tall, which they had calculated once at Liones before they were framed for the Great Holy Knight's murder, of course this required the use of Lostvayne, Meliodas's Sacred treasure. Regardless of how they measured her height, this did not prevent Gowther's immediate interruption.

 **Gowther** : " _Incorrect, you are exactly 30ft tall!"_ he corrected, pointing out the flaws in Diane's statement and causing her to blush in embarrassment. He had been reading a book outside and was currently standing next to Diane's arm, a foolish mistake on his part. She proceeded to smash him into the ground, grinding him deep into the earth. Most of the sins could survive being smashed like that, however this did not mean she was being merciful. She kept her hand placed on the hole she had created with Gowther's body, in order to prevent his escape.

 **Diane** : " _Anyway, let's continue shall we?"_ she asked, an aggravated smile upon her face to simulate her displeasure at the sin of Lust's sudden interruption and revelation of her secrets.

 **Elizabeth** **and** **King** : " _R…Right!_ " they stammered, slightly unnerved by the sin of Envy's display of rage.

 **Elizabeth** : " _Anyway, my name is Elizabeth and I will be your waitress this evening. Was there anything particular that caught your eye?"_ She continued, smiling as she pulled out a small piece of paper with which to take their order.

 **King** : "I _will have the fondue, please!"_ he responded, his love of cheese was evident with this statement. Out of all the human inventions, this was the best in his opinion.

 **Diane** : " _I will have a whole roast pork, please! OH, could you also put on the weird sauce the chef makes? It's really good!"_ She exclaimed, her mouth began salivating at the very thought of her roasted pork.

 **Elizabeth** : " _1 fondue and 1 roast pork with gravy! Would you like any drinks?"_ she noted and asked, making sure she did not mess up the basics.

 **King** : " _Uuuhh… I'll just have a mug of Aberdeen ale please!"_ he asked politely.

 **Diane** : _"Hmmm… I think I will have a barrel of Bernia ale, please! I don't know why but it always appeals to me! I think Escanor once told me why, but, I forgot… hahaha_!" she replied politely. Her way of speaking was quite unnatural considering the stereotypes that surrounded the giant's clan.

 **Elizabeth** : " _Okay… I have your order written down, I'll go and ask Sir Ban and Sir Meliodas to get it prepared!_ " She stated, bowing in appreciation for their help and leaving to go to the bar.

 **King** : " _I hope the princess does not ask who you were talking about… We are not supposed to talk about him in front of others_." He stated, reminding the sin of Envy that she had just mentioned 'he who must not be named'. Upon realizing this she scratched the top of her head, having forgot that this was actually the case. Whilst the two sins discussed not speaking of Escanor's existence in front of Elizabeth, the princess had walked over to the bar, which was being manned by Meliodas, captain of the seven deadly sins.

 **Meliodas** : " _So, what did they order Elizabeth_?" he asked, whilst he tried to locate a bottle of liquor from the shelf, which seemed to have disappeared… or perhaps stolen?

 **Elizabeth** : " _They wanted, 1 mug of Aberdeen ale, 1 barrel of Bernia ale, 1 fondue and 1 roast pork with gravy smeared on it_." She replied, with confidence she got the order correct.

 **Meliodas** : " _Yeah, that sounds about right for those two!"_ He said, whilst pouring King's drink and handing it to Elizabeth on a wooden plater. She carried it carefully towards their table, whilst Meliodas went inside the storage room to get a barrel of Bernia Ale and tell Ban of the order. Elizabeth returned to the table to deliver King's drink.

 **Elizabeth** : " _Here you go, 1 aberdeen ale. Your barrel of Bernia Ale and food are on the way!"_ She stated, successfully managing to complete her first order.

 **Diane and King** : " _Thanks Elizabeth!"_ they exclaimed. Meaniwhile, Meliodas was confused as to where he had put the Bernia ale. He found it after a minute of searching and decided to roll the barrel past the kitchen to tell Ban about the orders.

 **Meliodas** : " _Yo, Ban! Can you make 1 fondue and 1 roast pork smeared in gravy?"_ he asked, peeping his head into the kitchen and saw Ban sitting in the kitchen, bored and drinking the beer he was looking for. He stared at Ban, squinting his eyes at him as he continued to roll the barrel out of storage.

 **Ban** : " _Yeah, I got it captain!"_ he said, in his usual happy tone, he followed it up by putting on his apron and preparing himself to cook. Hawk had followed Meliodas into the kitchen and was more than happy to watch Ban cook, a terrible mistake on his part… considering Diane had asked for Roast pork.

Meliodas appeared behind Elizabeth with his barrel and began groping her but with his usual carefree face. He never tried to hide his groping, which was his way of conveying his feelings for Elizabeth, although she just considered it groping. So did Diane and King, who were quite annoyed at him for doing that.

 **?** : " _I said stop doing that you swine!"_ a high pitched voice said, busting out of the kitchen and leaping across the room, kicking Meliodas in the face for groping the princess. Obviously this was Hawk, but he seemed slightly paler than usual, the assumption being he overheard the commotion outside, whilst Ban had started cooking the whole roast pork.

 **Elizabeth** : " _Thank you Hawk!"_ she said, blushing slightly as she looked over to the barrel of Bernia Ale. She rolled it over to Diane, who had found an issue with her drinking it from inside the bar. Deciding to be a good, creative friend, Elizabeth pulled out a nearby knife and carved a small incision in the top of the barrel. She then ran to the storage room and found a few reeds that Ban had bought for a few recipes. She picked one up, apologised for taking it and ran out of the kitchen. Ban was perplexed as he had just realized what had happened.

 **Ban** : "… _Did the princess just steal from me?_ " he said, absolutely shocked at the inconceivable and equally ironic event that had just happened before him. Elizabeth returned to the table and stuck the reed in the hole she had made, pushing the barrel over to Diane. The giantess looked at her confused at what she had just done, but, looking at Elizabeth smiling and gesturing towards the reed she decided it was best to trust her friend, I mean they were essentially best friends.

The giantess placed her lips around the top of the reed and began to suck, to her surprise she began tasting the ale and looked in amazement as she figured out what Elizabeth's wacky invention was, a straw. Diane happily kept sucking on the reed and drinking small amounts of the ale, this was an excellent way to conserve alcohol and get it to Diane's mouth.

 **Diane** : " _Wow, you're a genius Elizabe_ th!" she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she watched in anticipation for Elizabeth's next trick.

 **Elizabeth** : " _I got the idea from a fairy tale Meliodas told me last night!"_ she said. This got both of the sins curious as to what they had done last night.

* * *

 **Last Night**

The princess of Liones was ready for bed. She walked across the room and sat down on the bed. She noticed a lack of company in the room and began wondering where her roommate had run off to. She left the room and walked downstairs to inspect the bar… but, he was not there. She decided to check the roof and noticed him standing on the balcony of the boar's hat. She approached him, slowly, making no sudden movements as to not startle him. He noticed her presence nonetheless and turned to face her. In his hands were a book, a book which he had purchased a while ago and had not read it in 16 years. The book's title was illegible, so Elizabeth really did not know what the contents would be about. He allowed a comforting smile to appear upon his face, which signified to Elizabeth she could approach him without any issues. She could not hold her curiosity and simply had to ask… what the book was.

 **Elizabeth** : " _Um… Sir Meliodas, what is that book your holding?"_ she asked, wanting to know more about his preferences. She had already come to a conclusion that she may have had feelings for the captain and hearing about Liz from Cain was quite the startling history lesson. His smile turned into a small grin as he sat down on the balcony, his back leaning against the wall.

 **Meliodas** : " _If you'd like, sit down next to me and I'll read it to you_!" he said, patting his hand on the ground. Her curiosity got the better of her as she found herself sitting next to Meliodas, the man she had come to care for deeply. He opened the book and began reading her the story. The general gist of the novel, was rather simple but effective in captivating the audience. A lonely traveller who adventures through Britannia in order to find purpose and acceptance, and apparently these were all true stories. The scenes that captivating Elizabeth's attention were the chapter titled; "Pond escape" and "Chance meeting".

The chapter entitled "Pond escape" was a chapter that delved into the art of spontaneous creativity and would be the source of inspiration for Elizabeth's "straw" idea. The chapter described the man's encounter with a large group of bandits which he tried to outrun. He came to a dead end and chose to dive into a nearby lake and hide at the bottom. He grabbed one of the reeds, tugging at it firecly until it snapped. He proceeded to use it as an air funnel, so he could safely hide at the bottom of the lake, without needing to surface for air. This idea eventually worked and the bandits left him alone, this chapter basically made the man look like a genius.

The chapter entitled "Chance meeting" delved into the romantic aspect of the man's life and was equally interesting to Elizabeth, because she was in a similar situation. The bond he and his lover shared was one-sided, in the sense that one of them was completely infatuated by the other… but, was too shy to confess their feelings. He describes everything about her being immaculate, perfection that even perfection would be jealous of. His large vocabulary and use of varying adjectives all to personify her beauty was impressive and rather sweet. The heart of the lonely man, who sought nothing but purpose, finally had a purpose… to live for his love. This was the last chapter that Meliodas read to Elizabeth, as she had become increasingly tired and had fallen asleep. She lent her head on Meliodas shoulder, which made the latter blush. He had never thought Elizabeth would fall asleep on him, but, her soft skin and velvet scented hair were enough for him to forget about his worries from before. He caressed her head and pushed her hair back behind her ear. He looked at her and momentarily his past flashed before his eyes… almost as if he were back with Liz. He smiled, yet tears rolled down his face.

 **Meliodas** : " _haha… you use to fall asleep at that part too… remember Liz?"_ he whispered, picking Elizabeth up and walking back to their bedroom. He placed her on the bed softly and pulled the cover over her. He stared at her, realizing that he might actually be falling in love again. Perhaps it was best that he could move on, but, he would never forget. Liz was incredibly important to him, yet so was Elizabeth. He pushed his thoughts aside and returned to reality. He reached over to Elizabeth's forehead and gave it a gentle kiss.

 **Meliodas** : " _Good night, Elizabeth. Sweet dreams_!" he whispered, as to not wake her up.

 **Elizabeth** : " _Good night, sir Meliodas…"_ she mumbled in response to him. She had unconsciously reacted to Meliodas's statement, which forced a smile on his face. He was happy, no longer regretting his past like he was on the balcony. He stared down at the book and laughed for a while, remembering all the times he and Liz had read this book together and who had sold him the book in the first place. He patted the cover of the books to remove all the dust and read the now legible text. On the cover was a simple, yet, important title… which Meliodas read aloud.

 **Meliodas** : " _Poems, Pride and Purpose…"_ he whispered. He placed the book back in the attic and left, to jump into bed with Elizabeth.

* * *

 **Present Day**

 **Elizabeth** : " _So that's what happened last night, after the last chapter I forgot what happened, so I must have fallen asleep. Sir Meliodas then carried me to bed and that was it._ " She stated, the two of them looked at her in a peculiar manner, knowing full well the meaning behind those events. Before they could say a word, Ban arrived with the food. They both looked at their delicious meals and thanked Ban for making it. They were incredibly hungry and were more than delighted to eat some fine cuisine.

 **Diane and King** : " _SOOOO GOOD!"_ They said, in unison. Elizabeth smiled at their pleasure eating and left to go outside. She saw Meliodas starring to the west of their location as she walked over to him. She stood next to him and stared at him, dead in the eyes.

 **Elizabeth** : " _Thanks for last night, it was really nice!"_ she said, blushing and smiling simultaneously at her comment. Meliodas smiled back, as she hugged him as payment for his good deeds. He faltered, but, looked avidly pleased with the situation as well… however, he broke the mood when he began fondling Elizabeth's breasts again.

 **Elizabeth** : _"KYAAA!"_ she yelled, this was the beginning to a simple and beautiful romance between a princess and a criminal.

* * *

Next Chapter: Diane X King


	2. A Night to Remember!

Elizabeth continued to practice all day long until the early hours of the evening. She was clearly exhausted and since they were on the road, she could relax as the amount of customers was limited. She found herself losing consciousness every now and again, which eventually lead for her to call it quits and take an early nap. She thanked everyone once again, said good night and left for the night. This sparked Meliodas's interest and he quickly followed her up the stairs. Ban and Gowther were already in their respective rooms, the former passed out and the latter reading. This left only the sins of Envy and Sloth who were contemplating on going to bed.

* * *

" _Should we go to bed yet, Diane?_ " King said, nervously and wondering what his friend wanted to do.

" _I'm not really tired though King, I'm sure the others are going to bed early... But, i can't do that at all!_ " she replied, clearly confused as to why everyone had decided to get their rest earlier than usual. She understood the need for sleep, just not why they had to break their schedule and leave her awake and alone... Well, almost alone.

" _I need to kill some time before i actually feel like going to bed, King._ " she stated, clearly not wanting to break her own sleep schedule. For her, this was important considering she had to walk alongside the Boar's Hat and not being allowed to sleep inside of it. This situation simply reminded her of how annoying being a giant can be sometimes, there was only one person she knew of,in the Kingdom of Liones, who had similar problems to her, in that regard, and that was Escanor during the day. Nevertheless, she still had to find some way of occupying herself.

" _Well... What do you want to do until you are tired?_ " he asked, curiously. Did she have anything in mind?

" _I wish i could be inside with captain, so he could fondle my breasts like he does with Elizabeth's... That would be nice and kill time!_ " she replied, pouting as she did so. She was clearly having her fantasies about Meliodas, despite having a glimmer of hope in her eyes, she knew she could never replace Elizabeth. To captain, she was special... very special.

" _I... Uh, think you may find that difficult Diane._ " he said, honestly and reassuringly. Not going into details as to not aggravate her.

" _Either way, I'm going for a walk..._ " she said, getting to her feet and stretching her legs for a minute. She then began walking towards an opening in the woods, her immense legs looming above the wildlife and her feet crushing much of the roots beneath the trees.

" _Hold on Diane, I'll come with you! I'm not tired either!_ " he said, floating towards her and arriving at her shoulder height. She glanced towards him, then the ground and then further away. She was clearly wanting to be left alone, but, King would not allow that.

" _O-o-okay...sure!_ " she said, fumbling her words as she held back her real answer. She wanted to say "go away King, I'm not looking for company right now!" but, she cared about her friend's feelings and did not want to hurt him.

They started their promenade inside the forest, until they suddenly found themselves outside in the open. They had walked through the forest, silently in the pitch black night. The stars and the moon were the only sources of light which seemed to only glow in a single place. They both chose to investigate where the glowing was coming from. They found the structure that was receiving the moonlight and quickly realized it was actually a cave. The sin of Envy was curious and rushed towards the cave, seemingly thinking it was important to her. The sin of Sloth stayed back as the thought began to dawn on him... This was the same cave he and Diane had lived in for those 500 years they were together. What if she remembered him now? What if she remembered why she forgot in the first place? He could not fathom the though... He lost track of time until his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Diane's soothing voice.

" _King... Are you still there?_ " she asked, puzzled as to why he did not follow her inside.

" _Yeah... Coming Diane!_ " he replied, slowly floating towards the entrance to the cave. He noticed Diane messing around with a few objects, afraid they would spark her memory.

" _It seems that a giant and a someone else were living here at some point King... I wonder if it could be..._ " she said, stopping herself as her head began hurting and her vision became fuzzy. Her expression turned from curious to upset as her memories began rising to the surface and pounding in her skull, she had not remembered a thing, but she had started to piece together a few details. She shook herself to stop this weird feeling growing inside of her and looked towards King with a look that suggested she wanted to know what he thought of the cave, she needed a way to alleviate her attention from the weird feeling she just had.

" _I'm not sure about this Diane... It could have been from a long time ago or a few days, it's impossible to tell!_ " he lied, knowing exactly when and where those things were from. When he noticed the tears he thought she had remembered and thus had no other choice but to lie about it, unwilling to face the reality that this could happen.

" _Either way... I'm actually starting to get tired now King, let's head back!_ " she said, a small smile shone on her face as she positioned herself at the cave's entrance. Before being able to leave both she and King heard a massive crack of thunder, which scared the two sins. The look of panic was clearly shown on both their faces as they looked around to identify the loud noise. Another roaring clash of thunder echoed in the sky and the sins looked outside of the cave to see the moonlight fade, as dark storm clouds covered the sky. The 'pitter patter' of rain hitting everything around them and the constant droplets of rain falling from the sky forced the two sins to stay within the confines of the cave until it cleared up.

" _Dang it... Looks like we will have to stay inside the cave tonight King... Unless this clears up in the next few minutes that is!_ " she said, pointing out that the heavy rain would not only force them to stay inside the cave, but, they may have to sleep there. King's face started to turn red as he broke away from Diane's gaze and contemplated the chance of this happening. Should he be happy that het got to spend some quality time with Diane or worried that being in this place would trigger her memories to return... He had to be cautious, although he wanted her to love him... He did not want the single memory that could ruin their friendship to surface.

Diane walked to the back of the cavern and noticed a large amount of straw laid out on the ground. Judging by the size she estimated that the giant staying here must have been a child, which still meant they were incredibly large. King inspected the place he used to sleep, upon a large rock overlooking the giant's bed. She lay down on the straw and lent her bag against the wall. She tried to get into a comfortable position, regardless of the cave being slightly damp and incredibly cold. King, who was now used to having a comfortable place to rest in the Boar's Hat, was unable to sleep. He had not brought Chastifol because Ban had passed out on it and it would have been incredibly bothersome to get it back, thus he was stuck in a very uncomfortable position.

" _Ugh... I can't get to sleep like this, I'll have to get some of the straw Diane is on..._ " He though, floating down to the giantess who was already asleep. It would seem the alcohol from earlier that afternoon had reached her system and she had easily drifted into her dreams. Her body lay on the ground and stretched outward. Her right arm was positioned above her head, whilst her left was next to her body with her left hand placed on her stomach. Her deep slumber would clearly not be interrupted by King if he took a bit of straw for himself, so he proceeded confidently towards his new goal. The issue was, he could not use 'Disaster' magic as it may affect Diane and hurt her in some way. Thus, he used what little strength he had to gather as much straw as possible by hand. This was an undisputedly easy task for him as even Escanor, in the late hours of the night, could carry large bundles of straw. Thus the sin of Sloth managed to accumulate a reasonable amount of straw and was surprised when he saw Diane's hand reach over his head and grab him. She seemed to have rolled over to increase the amount of comfort her makeshift bedding could provide, probably due to King removing a small portion of it. Either way he was startled by this sudden change and effortlessly attempted to wake Diane up.

 _"DIANE! WAKE UP! YOU GRABBED ME, I NEED YOU TO LET ME GO... BAN IS TELLING EVERYONE HOW TALL YOU ARE!"_ he yelled. His efforts proved in vain as she gently squeezed him and brought him closer to her face. He could feel Diane's breathe running down his back, which caused his body to shiver. He was then moved once more as Diane continued to move around. Diane was now laying on her side with both her hands cupped closely to her chest, King found himself in both an equally good and bad position as he was trapped between Diane's breasts and her hands. He panicked, looking for a way to escape before she woke up and found him like that, to no avail... Her grip was simply too tight, as one would expect from a giant. King reluctantly decided to give up... He could not escape Diane's grip nor did he exactly hate the situation, in fact he was more than happy to be there. He knew that behind him existed his equivalent to heaven and that he could easily grasp it without any trouble. His lustful desires were too tempting to resist as he turned around to gaze at Diane's cleavage. His body twisted and prepared itself for the inevitable repercussions of his decision and they followed suite as he had predicted. Once he had stared at Diane' gigantic breasts his nose erupted with a stream of blood and he lost consciousness... His consciousness slowly faded as he heard a soft and quite voice, which seemed to resonate in his mind...

" _Harlequin..._ " it said. That night, King dreamt about what it would be like to share a kiss with Diane. It had never occurred to him until now that her size could impose a few limits to their relationship, but, he didn't care. Love is a powerful force that drives all creatures and eventually resonates within two separate entities, joining them together as one. The concept of King's dream remained short and simple... " _Will Diane and I ever find love together?_ "

In the early hours before Dawn, the storm clouds had cleared up and the sun was shining brightly in the blue sky. The summer breeze blew the scent of flowers across through the forest and into the cave, which woke up the sin of Envy. She awoke from a peculiar dream where she and someone she could not remember lived together in a cave similar to this one... It seemed more realistic than a dream could possibly be and she was unsure of what to think of it. She knelt up to wake up King, however she noticed that she had been holding something whilst she was sleeping... She moved her hands to her face and noticed it was King, in an unconscious state with a bloody nose. Her face turned bright red as she realized that she had slept with King pressed into her cleavage and slowly tried piecing the pieces of the puzzle together. She didn't understand why it happened, she just hoped that King did not remember anything so that they would not be stuck in an awkward situation. She chose to place him down on the ground, where he had chosen to sleep before she grabbed him. She lay back down on the ground and pretended to go to sleep, hoping he would just wake up and believe it was all a dream... Which he did.

King woke up ten minutes later and noticed Diane "sleeping" and without a moments notice jumped up and started stretching. He then floated over towards Diane and started to mutter to himself, although since she was awake she heard every word.

" _I had the best dream last night... I really do love you, Diane!_ " he said, floating towards her face with the intent of waking her up. When he arrived at her head he noticed a problem... She was awake and just heard every word he said. He immediately panicked and started stammering his words whilst Diane's face turned bright red as she used her hair to cover her face.

" _D-D-DIANE DID YOU HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID?!_ " he yelled frantically!

" _You Love me, King?_ " she asked, her face growing ever brighter as the situation became more awkward, let alone the fact that she had snuggled up with him last night, but he just confessed to loving her... This was too much for a young maiden's heart to bear. She didn't know what to do so she did what anyone would do in this situation... Run and tell Elizabeth! This left King floating in mid-air realizing what he had just done and chasing after her telling her to stop running and listen to him.

She quickly ran through the forest and made it to a small clearing, she suddenly stopped and began thinking about what King had said. Her mind began rushing with memories of the past brought upon her by King's confession as she came to understand the feelings that she had been misdirecting towards Meliodas. She remembered the good times, the bad times, every details of her life with King over the 500 year time span were back in her mind. She could not contain the tears as her eyes began streaming with them. She turned to face the Grizzly's sin of Sloth who was standing on the ground about 30 metres away. She looked at him, for the first time in 200 years, as she did back then... Her eyes filled with tears, her body became weak and her heart began racing... Never had she felt this upset or good before. She had no other option than to express herself...

 _"KING!_ " she yelled, her voice resonated for miles as if to signal another storm. Whilst yelling his name, she leapt at King with her arms open wide, grabbed him and began hugging him tightly.

* **Sob** * " _I don't know why i forgot about you... But, i never will AGAIN! I love you King!_ " * **Sob** * she cried out. Making her feelings known to the man she cared most for and knowing that he reciprocated those feelings towards her. They remained in each other's embrace all while the sun rose from behind the trees. The faint amount of light became an overpowering beacon, symbolic of the love and hope that both these two sins shared. They promised each never to forget and to never stop loving each other... They held each other's hand and, in Diane's case, began skipping back to the Boar's Hat to tell Elizabeth of the news!

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Ban x Elaine


	3. A Wonderful Dream!

During the night, whilst Diane and King were on their walk, the Fox's sin of Greed was having an equally lovely dream as there relationship would move forward the next morning. Ban had fallen asleep with Chastifol in his grasps and had refused to relinquish it when King came to retrieve it an hour before he left. Thus, he was cuddling up to it whilst he slept. The floral scent from the pillow combined with his avid memories of the past drifted him into a sweet slumber where he would dream of the most important thing in his mind... Elaine. His dreams became more like a trance as he slowly faded from reality and lost himself to the dream world, where he could be figuratively reunited with his beloved.

* * *

" _Ban?_ " said a sweet female voice. The sin of Greed awoke from atop a tree branch and leapt down to greet the girl.

"Elaine" he said, with a large grin and a singing tone. His smile only grew larger as he began to grab her and wave her around.

" _B-B-Ban!_ What are you doing?" she cried out, her face grew bright red. She was still getting used to the idea of having company after 700 years of loneliness.

" _Just having some fun Elaine!"_ he said, continuing to hold her up and messing around. Ban had gotten incredibly attached to Elaine by this point, to the extent where he believed he had found someone he legitimately cared about, which was fairly rare. After a few more minutes of messing around, he put Elaine down and decided to go looking for some food. He turned back to Elaine, looking her dead in the eyes and asked her.

" _Hey Elaine, where can i find something to eat?_ " he asked, his serious stare instantly transformed into a large grin as he noticed Elaine's expression getting angry.

" _BAN YOU MEANIE, I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA TALK ABOUT SOMETHING SERIOUS!_ " she cried out, using her magic to blow him off the sacred tree.

" _CCCRRRRAAAAAPPPP!_ " he yelled, falling down the trunk of the tree, hitting a couple of the large branches on the way down and landing in a large bird's nest. He looked around and his eyes lit up with joy as he found a pair of delicious looking eggs, which happened to be immense in size. He was astounded by the sheer size of the eggs, but noticed that something had broken his fall other than the nest. He looked underneath him and found he had landed on a Tempest Tree Dweller, a rare type of bird only found in this forest. They were said to have majestic feather patterns and were often hunted for decorative purposes, because of that they were a severely endangered species. It would seem that this bird was the mother of the eggs and Ban had broken her neck upon landing on her. He felt guilty for killing her and was slightly annoyed at Elaine for playing a role in it. He glanced down at the eggs and decided he would take care of them until they hatched. But, before that he had to say something to Elaine.

" _THANKS ELAINE!_ " he cried out sarcastically, confusing the fairy girl. The tone of his voice was fairly dark and it was clear to Elaine something had happened. He placed both the eggs in the rucksack he had with him and carried them to the top of the Sacred Tree. Elaine's eyes lit up when she saw the eggs and was surprised that Ban had found them unguarded. He then explained to her exactly what had happened and her joyous look turned into one of sadness.

" _You mean... If i had not pushed you off, then the mother bird would not have died?_ " she said, tears welling up in her eyes as cold embrace of disparity clenched her heart. Her stomach turned and her mind began breaking down, she was unimaginably upset at what had just occurred... She had just taken the life of an innocent creature and she could not bear the guilt. Ban felt bad for telling Elaine now and decided he had to set things right. He called out her name and she turned to face him, he positioned himself in front of her and she was met with a warm, tender and loving hug.

" _It's not your fault Elaine, you could never have known that would happen!_ " he said quietly.

" _If you want to repent, we could always care for the eggs until they hatch... There is no need for 3 birds to die right?_ " He continued, reassuring the fairy girl as she began wiping the tears from her eyes.

" _Stupid Ban!_ " she said, sniffling and trying to compose herself. She seemed fascinated by Ban's proposal and was more than happy to do it. They placed both the eggs on separate piles of leaves and sticks and tried to remember what birds do to their eggs.

" _We need to keep the eggs warm!_ " she stated, going towards the forest floor and harvesting some sunflowers.

" _This will do the trick right Ban?_ " she asked, proudly showing him the sunflowers and watching him laugh his ass off at her decision.

" _Elaine, sunflowers is a name based on the shape of the flower... It doesn't actually create heat!_ " he said, gasping for air at the stupidity of Elaine's decision. Her face grew bright red as she felt like a complete dunce.

" _SHUT UP... If your so smart, you think of something!_ " she yelled, clearly upset that Ban decided to laugh at her. He thought about it and looked up into the clouds, his daydreaming gave him plenty of thoughts but no good ideas... So he settled with a silly one. He took on his coat and placed it around both eggs. He then turned his head around to see Elaine and gave her a cheeky smirk.

" _Idiot!"_ she whispered, blushing and feeling utterly idiotic for trying to use sunflowers to produce sunlight. She slouched down, next to the eggs and began wondering what to do next. Ban appeared next to her and explained why he found her idea so funny, he did not mean to upset her or show her up... It just sort of happened.

"I _don't think anything, other than the sun, can produce sunlight Elaine._ " he said, not knowing of a certain individuals existence quite yet. She pouted her cheeks and looked at him with a classic annoyed expression. She then sighed, stood up and thought about the next thing they needed to do.

 _"What else do we need? We don't need to feed them, do we?_ " she asked, clearly she knew nothing about the fauna of the forest, but, was an expert in the flora.

" _Nah, Elaine... We only need to look after them now!_ " he said, with a cheeky grin. This was followed by a rustling in the bushes below the sacred tree. Whilst looking down, Ban saw what appeared to be hunters attempting to scale the tree. They were probably looking for the eggs, or perhaps the adult birds, either way they could not be allowed to reach the top of the tree. Elaine looked at him momentarily and gestured for him to sit down with a smile, this was not the first time she had to deal with humans after all. There were three larger than average men standing at the foot of the tree, a small meek boy, who had a chain around his legs, and a slim, but well dressed, man with a small moustache and spectacles. The slim man seemed to be the boss of this group and gave the order to scale the tree in search of Tempest Tree Dwellers. He turned to face the meek looking boy, pulled out a knife and stabbed the base of the tree, which infuriated Elaine. He turned the boy upside down and left him hanging from the knife.

Elaine, now filled with rage, instantly used her magic to blast the three large men off the tree. They were not as fortunate as Ban was, back when they first met, and hit the ground with an echoing crash. The three men died upon impact and this started to turn Ban on. However, the leader of this group noticed his subordinates failure and walked over to the boy who had lost consciousness after being held upside down for a while. He took out his knife from the tree and ordered the boy to scale the tree. The boy gestured down to his feet where he could barely move them apart, which resulted in him getting punched in the gut. His chains were then cut by the slim, moustached man and the meek boy darted past him. The boy was incredibly fast for a human of his build and within half a minute he was out of sight. The leader, whose mind was overflowing with anger, came face to face with Elaine. Whilst he was talking to the speedy, meek boy she had descended from the canopy and come down to "greet" him.

" _You stabbed the Sacred tree and harbor ill intent towards this place, leave now or i will remove you by force!_ " she stated, looking the man dead in the eyes in hopes he would get the message. The man was not going to give upjust yet and pulled his knife on Elaine. The man's right shoulder was then dislocated by a three sectioned staff that Ban had so kindly decided to protect Elaine with. She then looked at the man and noticed him wet himself. She laughed at him and used her magic to instantly blow him out of the forest. The two lovers then returned to the top of the tree to continue their preservation of their bird species.

" _Well, that was fun... But, we'd better figure out how long these guys have left until they hatch!_ " she said, looking at Ban as if to imply he should know.

" _I'd say soon, considering mating season was a while ago!_ " he replied, unsure of it himself... But confident it would be sooner rather than later. He then began thinking of what to name the two children.

" _What do you think we should call them once they hatch? After all, they are our children now Elaine!_ " he asked, not realizing how badly this would cause Elaine to blush and die of embarrassment. She turned her head slightly towards him, her face redder than the blood in her veins and attempted to calm herself down.

" _I think we should name one of them... Lancelot, i like that name!_ " she said, Ban's eyes widened and he nodded in agreement. He then decided that the other one would get to be called whatever he wanted and he thought long and hard about it.

" _I like the name Bors or Hector... Which one do you think we should pick?"_ he asked.

" _Hector_!" she responded.

" _You know, we've been up here with each other for 3 days now and i already feel like a married couple!_ " he said, chuckling to himself.

" _Really?_ " she asked, clearly eager to prod Ban's mind for more details about how he felt around her.

" _Yeah!_ " he said, grinning as he did so. Elaine's head exploded in a cloud of smoke and she collapsed due to the sheer intensity of Ban's adoration of her. Ban's face turned into one of panic as he rushed over to see what had happened to Elaine! An hour passed whilst Elaine was unconscious until she was woken by Ban, who seemed to have something important on his mind.

" _You, okay Elaine? WAKE UP!_ " he yelled! Waking up the fairy girl instantly. She lifted her head up and noticed that the two eggs were hatching and rushed over to them with Ban. She was mesmerized by the sight of their birth as Ban held her in his arms. She didn't complain, as for some reason, she didn't mind. In fact, she was more than happy to be in his embrace... Could it be that she loved him to? No... There was no questioning that she loved him! They started in amazement as the eggs hatched and the two beautiful birds busted out of their shells. The birds were born with the ability to fly and thus without delay they began to flap their wings and take off. They ventured out into the nights sky with the intent of living their lives as nature had dictated, whilst Ban and Elaine looked in the distance until they were out of sight. The two lovers sighed and looked at each other briefly, then turned away. Suddenly the fountain of youth began emitting a pink glow, which was a reflection of hundreds of fireflies lighting up the tree. Both lovers looked around at the gorgeous scenery and looked back at each other, Elaine felt nervous her heart was thumping in her chest. Ban's throat dried out as he seemed lost for words. Suddenly he heard Elaine's voice, at first he couldn't hear it... But, it gradually became louder.

" _Ban... I...I Lo..."_ she muttered, she could not finish her sentence because the bandit had walked over to her, lifted her up and kissed her upon the lips. Their lips interlocked and what would become their first kiss commenced. They separated their heads momentarily and looked into each other's eyes, the light around them shone brightly through them as if to symbolise a new future for both lovers. They slowly crouched down and lay on the ground together, falling fast asleep mere minutes later. The scenery began to die down as if the forest itself had acted on it's own and brightened the mood so they could confess their feelings to one another. Truly, the fairy king's forest is a strange... And magical place.

* * *

Ban woke up the next morning, muttering the words Elaine as he noticed Diane and King outside the window, talking to Elizabeth. They seem relatively happy and were holding hands, so he assumed they had gotten together... Although, the reality of the situation was that Elaine had already passed on from this world, and he would give his all to change that. His hope was fading after all these years of searching though as he stared at the ceiling of his room, he heard a single voice amidst the banter outside...

" _I love you, Ban! Don't give up!_ " it said... His spirit revitalised he left the confines of his room and rand downstairs to hear about all the commotion. His day had already been brightened up by the sound of Elaine's voice and the wonderful dream he had had. Nothing would ever change how much he loved Elaine, for as long as he lived!

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Gowther x Slader


	4. A Lesson in Love!

After a close encounter with Galan, one of the ten commandments. The sin's side had taken heavy loses and causalities, which were all caused by a single enemy... Something they could not fathom to be possible. The Boar's sin of Gluttony Merlin had suggested that each sin had to individually get stronger and that they had to find the last member immediately...however, for the time being they would recuperate at Camelot. The goat's sin of Lust, Gowther, and Slader, the captain of Dawn Roar, were both in one of the bedrooms attempting to find some clothes for Gowther to wear. Due to Slader's flamboyant personality and obvious interest in Gowther, he volunteered to help him pick an outfit he would like, however Gowther did not care all that much about his clothing... He was more preoccupied with the idea of Love.

* * *

" _Slader... What is Love?_ " he asked in his usual monotone way. Slader kept his composure and remained from singing a catchy song he had heard recently in response to Gowther's question.

" _It is an overpowering emotion, the freedom to express ones self to another person without fear or doubt. To be able to see beauty in the soul, instead of the body and to care for someone to a greater extent that yourself... That is Love._ " he replied loudly and flamboyantly, making a great deal out of Gowther's question, which only served to fuel others. Slader continued to button up Gowther's shirt as the latter kept asking him questions surrounding the subject in question.

" _Emotions are naught but data, they can be altered... Just like memories, are they not?_ " he asked, he clearly saw love as an idea, a piece of information that could be rewired inside someone's brain and wiped, similar to a hard drive.

" _You may forget your memories, but, you can never forget your emotions... Learning how to be happy, sad, angry... These are all apart of human nature. There is no way to reverse these emotions and love is the same, no matter who you are, now matter all the horrible things in your life, you will always find someone you love and care about._ " Slader stated, hoping Gowther would come to understand that love is more than just data.

" _I see, in that case... Could these emotions be placed onto someone else should they have forgotten the original person they were designed for?_ " he asked, again implying that love had some relation with data. He was asking this question because of what he had erased from Diane's mind and he wondered if this could be a particular case of where this might have happened.

 _"It's possible... But, I've never seen it happen to anyone!_ " Slader said. He was trying to make it less obvious, but, he was beginning to lose faith in Gowther's innocence and was worried about his motive for asking such questions. After the incident back at Liones he was unsure of what to do.

" _I have two more questions, the first...could love exists between two different races? And the second could I ever find love or be loved?_ " he asked, a slight inkling of humanity seemed to appear in his voice and soul. His mind began understanding the essence of love, but, not the complexity of those emotions. He was beginning to "feel" and he was not to sure of how he felt about it.

" _Love is a mysterious force and it can certainty bring two people of different races together, even the most unlikely at times. For your second question that depends on you, would you be willing to accept someone's love? Would you be willing to love them back?_ " he replied and asked. Gowther was perplexed, he was considering his answer carefully as he was unsure of what to do in this scenario... It was not part of his programming.

" _I... I would try and understand it, if that is what you mean. It is not in my programming to attempt such emotional feats, however, i can always attempt to break protocol. But... I do not understand anything about this emotion... Could you teach me?"_ he asked.

Slader lifted his mask up and smiled, looking up at Gowther, patting him on the head and giving him a confident nod. The two of them sat down and spoke about the concept of love and other emotions linked with it for hours, the conversation continued inside the Boar's Hat as they boarded Hawk's Mama in order to pursue Diane. After an exhausting dialogue of 7 hours, Slader needed some rest from this topic and fell asleep on the spot. His head lent against Gowther's shoulder, where the sin of Lust turned to gaze at the sleeping knight. He turned back around and picked up a book entitled "Poems, Pride and Purpose", which he stared at for a few minutes and opened the book. He had not read this one before and he did not even recall them owning it. Meliodas had actually forgotten to take that book from the attic back to his room for safe keeping and Gowther was now reading it, a novel full of life lessons, poetic symbolism and emotional explanation. He began understanding the concept of human emotions better through the means of the novel and Slader's preaching. He finished the book relatively quickly and watched as the full moon lit up the room, he stared outside and uttered three words before essentially deactivating for the night.

" _Love... Is... Interesting!_ " he said a heartfelt smile appeared on his face before he rendered himself inactive for the night. His head lent upon Slader's and his right arm fell on his leg. The next morning would surprise Slader to his very core, although that story is for another time.

* * *

 **Next Chapte** r: Escanor x Merlin


	5. A Pleasant Surprise!

Twelve years ago, after the incident at Edinburgh, a young looking boy appeared in front of a door. The door was open and led to the most charming woman in all of Britannia, but, he could never tell her that... What if she didn't feel the same way? Still, a small boy who appeared to be around 12 years of age pushed him to do it, sincerely believing this was the best course of action for him. So he pushed him into the room, slammed the door and walked away, smiling to himself. The current time was 5:00AM and the young man intended to give her the items he brought and leave.

* * *

" _Good luck, Escanor!_ " he said! He reached the end of the hallway and proceeded to turn down the stairs, glancing back at the door just in case Escanor decided to run... This did not occur and thus he was convinced that things would go smoothly.

" _What a pleasant surprise! I didn't think you would come all the way to my magical facility from your room... What seems to be bothering you?_ " said Merlin, who to Escanor was perfection incarnate.

" _Uh...Um...Well...hahaha..._ " he stuttered nervously, trying to calm himself down and gripping the book he was holding tightly. She studied the sin of Pride, eager to find out the reason he so bravely entered her brewing room. She first pondered that it was to help her with her experiments, then she believed that he simply came to say hello... However, upon closer inspection she noticed some flowers Escanor was hiding behind his back. They were ruby red tulips, which happened to be her favourite, and she smiled sweetly as she realized he came to give her them.

" _Oh, are those for me? How sweet of you!_ " she said, as Escanor extended his arm to give Merlin the flowers, she carefully took them and placed them in a vase on her bookshelf, her other ones had recently died and she was wondering when she would get more. She had been awfully busy and had also been failing with the same experiment countless times over, and so she was unable to replace them herself. She continued to look at him and was shocked to see his head drooped to the ground, both his arms extended outward and him seemingly offering her the book he was holding. At first, she thought it was more of his poems... But, she glanced down at the book's cover and could not fathom her luck. Escanor was holding a book that had been lost for thousands of years and contained secret demonic techniques, items and priceless information. She stared at him momentarily and what happened next was completely unexpected.

" _THANK YOU ESCANOR, YOU SHY, LOVABLE MAN! THIS IS THE BEST GIFT I COULD HAVE ASKED FOR!_ " she yelled in excitement, running over to the Lion's sin of Pride and hugging him. Her grip was fairly tight, which was testament to how excited she was and she didn't stop... It seemed to last an eternity and all Escanor could do was stare at the wall in shock. He was being hugged by Merlin? This was insane, from his perspective... Although, it was different he enjoyed it a lot. A few days ago, whilst on a mission with Diane and King he had accidentally fallen down into a ravine and found the book lying there on a pedestal... He knew that Merlin would like it, but, not this much.

She glanced up to see Escanor's face and it was bright red. He was trying to so hard not to explode with joy himself and he was doing fine until Merlin gave him a slight kiss on the cheek. His eyes widened, his ears began fuming and his nose began to bleed... He was still processing the information from before and now it was too much, so he fell unconscious. Merlin, who was fairly worried about him, used her magic to pick him up and put him on her bed. She left to go fix her experiment and hopefully when she came back Escanor would be fine.

Twenty minutes past and the sin of Pride awoke from his slumber, but, Merlin was nowhere to be seen. In his frazzled state, he ventured out of her room to find her and to his surprise she was in the kitchen struggling to cook something. She saw him enter and noticed her cooking skills were barely better than Meliodas's, which didn't bode well for him trying to eat it...

 _"Would you like some help, Merlin?_ " he asked, still struggling to speak correctly after what had transpired earlier that day. She looked at him, sweetly and nodded that she needed help, to no surprise Escanor had offered to help, yet she was surprised that Escanor knew how to cook.

" _I'm trying to make a rock cake, I'm guessing you know how?_ " she asked, she barely knew anything about Escanor with his warping personalities to his talents, abilities and so on. Just as she thought about him changing personalities, she glanced out of the window and realized that Dawn was upon them, which meant that Escanor was about to change. His clothes slowly began growing tighter and his body became more muscular. He quickly outgrew his shirt and was left in his trousers and his shoes. He seemed perfectly fine in this attire though, considering this happened quite often. Even Ban could not compete with how many clothes Escanor ripped out of, which is why he always has a spare on hand... Except for today. He was still in the mood to help Merlin, so he walked behind her and began grabbing the ingredients from the shelves.

" _Rock cake, huh? I'm the master of making Merlin's favourite cake!_ " he declared, he already knew that was her favourite cake and thus for the purpose of impressing her, he had mastered it. She smiled, with a drop of sweat running down her face... She had never been this close to Escanor during the day before and she had no means to knock him out. She decided that she would test how well he reacted to certain events and situations, without being locked away... What she really wanted was some quality time with the man she had just smooched, considering she owed him a lot.

He began breaking some eggs, measuring the flour, milk and grabbing some butter. He threw all of the ingredients in a bowl and stared whisking away, which was easy for him in this form. He slowly added sugar and raisins to the mixture until he was happy with it's consistency. He then applied some butter to a cake tin and poured the mixture into it. He then placed the cake into Merlin's oven, closed the oven door and stared at her with a big grin on his face.

" _What do you think?_ " he asked. She was perplexed that it was that simple, but, she was unwilling to care at this time, something else was on her mind.

" _Watching you cook is someone attractive, probably because it's for me... But, you make it look so easy!_ " she said, her body crying out for attention and her mind confused as to why she would say that. Was she having issues with a split personality? Was she in a trance? Was Escanor doing something to her? Was she in love? This was a feeling she had never experienced due to her having a very small amount of care for anyone in that regard, but, for some reason the most complicated man on the planet had somehow attracted her with cooking and giving her a book she longed for. Escanor leant his head closer to Merlin's as she regained her composure and came back to reality. How close he was surprised her as she jumped backwards and let out the cutest " _KYA!_ "

This startled Escanor as well, but, it also made him blush and think to himself how cute that was. He never imagined she would be capable of that, considering how sophisticated she was. He then began laughing at her for making such a noise, which she didn't find amusing.

" _Don't laugh at me! It was an accident, you startled me!_ " she stated, but, Escanor continued laughing.

" _But... It's so out of character!"_ He replied, quite literally laughing out loud. It was now her turn to start blushing and the level of embarrassment she was facing continued to grow, she needed a way for Escanor to keep quite about this and chose to cry and make him feel guilty for laughing at her.

 _"Please don't tell anyone i made that noise..._ " she asked nicely, with tears rolling down her face. This resulted in Escanor looking slightly guilty for a single second and laugh his ass off again. Now that she was crying he was having a field day, which annoyed the hell out of her. So, with a loud voice and a huge amount of anger she began trying to tear him a new one with insults, he eagerly joined in as he thought it was fun.

" _Dummy_ " she said.

" _Kya-Girl_ " he said.

" _Mega-Moron_ " she said.

" _Cry-Baby_ " he said.

" _Butt-Head_ " she said.

" _Glutton_ " he said.

" _Idiot..._ " she said, starting to realize Escanor was not insulting her, but, telling her the truth.

" _Sweetheart_ " he said, startling her and turning the game on it's head.

" _Stud_ " she said, continuing to play along with their new game.

" _Beautiful_ " he said, a slight grin appearing on his face.

" _Awesome_ " she stated, to point out that him changing the game was an awesome idea.

" _Lovable_ " They both said!

" _..._ "

They began staring at each other, with their eyes fixated at the gaze of the other. Time seemed to last longer, their breaths became heavy, their stomachs began tossing themselves around and the next thing both sins realized was that they were directly in front of the other. Their game had turned into a confession as both sins stared up at the person they loved, the glistening emotions from her eyes told him that the feelings were reciprocated. He reached down, slowly, his hand running down her body and caressing her back. She placed her arms on his chest and felt his incredibly muscular figure. She suddenly noticed she had been lifted up to his face and both the sins, once again stared at one another. This time, it ended in a long, passionate kiss that spanned the course of several minutes. Their eyes were closed as they enjoyed this lovely moment together, the sun gleaming through the kitchen windows as if to signify that Escanor was happy. The two sins were then interrupted by the raisin cake, to which Escanor responded by taking it out instantly and continuing to kiss Merlin. They then paused their intimate moment to have a slice of cake and something to drink, a nice breakfast and then continued... This time, they chose to be intimate in Merlin's bedroom and things began to get rather hot inside of her facility.

Thirty minutes later, Merlin left her bedroom sweaty and exhausted, she walked over to grab a glass of milk, as Escanor left the bedroom as well. He began to yawn, considering when he usually goes to sleep is around now and he too was a little bit exhausted. They both sat down, drank some fluids and then he decided that he should probably leave. She disagreed and urged him to stay and help her with her experiments, an offer he couldn't refuse. They also agreed not to tell anyone else that this had happened as it may cause a few awkward conversations and unwanted harassment. So, they agreed to keep their relationship a secret from everyone else and chose to work together in her facility as opposed to Merlin being lonely. This led to a smooth system where both sins would spend a lot of time together and would be incredibly happy.

This relationship was the driving force that kept Escanor's spirits high and was also something that Merlin regarded as the best thing that had happened to her since joining the sins and avoiding death row. They could not help but love each other and after their first romantic encounter, many more would follow suite... In secret of course ;)

* * *

 **Next Chapter** **:** Meliodas x Liz


	6. A Unique Relationship!

16 years ago, in the kingdom of Danafor, there lived a crimson haired girl called Elizabeth, but, most people just called her Liz. She had recently been pardoned for her crimes against the kingdom, which included the attempted assassination of the great holy knight. She was considered an assassin, put on trial, found guilty and to be publically executed. However she was saved by the very man she was assigned to kill, which was infuriating for her, even more so that he asked if she could live with him... Her "execution" day was yesterday and she was being given a second chance as a knight of Danafor, against her will, and, unbeknownst to her, she was being sent on a mission with Meliodas and a small group of knights.

* * *

Early that morning, Liz woke from a peaceful dream to find that Meliodas had already woken up and was downstairs... In the kitchen. Meliodas usually slept on the right side of the bed, tied up thanks to Wandle, so he could easily manoeuver his way off the bed. Today she was in for an awfully unpleasant morning, as Liz caught the aroma of Meliodas's cooking from her room. It smelled delicious and considering she had just woken up, she was drowsy and unable to think straight. She made her way to the kitchen, yawing multiple times and placing herself at the dinner table. She could barely make out the scene before her eyes as she was obviously still exhausted and would momentarily fall in and out of a deep sleep. This continued for several minutes as Meliodas placed her food on the table. The sound of her plate hitting the wooden table was enough to startle her, making her fall off her chair. She looked shocked and more than happy to pretend nothing happened, but, the grin on Meliodas's face mustered the impression he was going to remark on something.

 _"Did you enjoy the fall?_ " he said, instantly receiving a glare from Liz which suggested she would murder him whilst he slept.

" _I don't know what you are talking about!_ " she said, in a stern voice. Determined to make him forget such an embarrassing thing had happened.

" _Would you like something to drink?_ " he asked, ignoring her tone and continuing on with his day. He pulled out a bottle of Bernia Ale and gave her a mug full of it! She drank it down, with pleasure! The taste of apples, the fragrance, the texture they all seem... Perfect!

 _"What was that? It was delicious!_ " she said, a smile growing on her face. She could never forget a taste like that, it was almost magical.

" _Bernia Ale!_ " he said, with little a care as to tell her the name. He thought about telling her it was "Humility" and that she should quit being so concerned with her image, everyone here already considered her bad news anyway. Well... He decided against that because he wanted to change her. Instead of her being by her lonesome, he would spend every waking minute making sure she would embrace a life of friendship, happiness and above all hope. The first step was Bernia Ale, but, he needed more than that. It was about this time he realized he had cooked breakfast and had forgotten how badly his cooking skills were... The plan he just set in motion came to a grinding halt as Liz started eating his food.

" _BLEH, what did you make this out of? Poison? Charcoal? Ash? It taste so bitter, ew! I mean i appreciate the gesture, but, it's just nasty!_ " she said, washing the horrible taste away with her ale. It was almost impossible to describe how bad Meliodas was at cooking, but, it was much easier to notice that Liz said something unexpected.

" _She appreciated the gesture? Then my plan hasn't backfired, quite yet! I just have to make sure i don't do anything poorly time or I'm out!_ " he thought, moving over to Liz and squeezing her right breast. Apparently, Meliodas's body seemed to move by instinct whilst he thought... Which would explain why most of the time he tends not to think about things.

" _AHHHHH! Stop that you pervert!_ " she yelled, smacking him on the head and sending him flying into a nearby cabinet. Her face was bright red, her hands shaking and her mind focused on a single thing... Why? Why did he grope her? Was this his plan all along? She was infuriated with him, but, equally curious.

" _Why the heck did you do that?_ " she yelled, her tone displaying her anger with her words displaying her eagerness to seek the truth.

 _"I needed to make sure you wee a girl and not some guy with melons stuffed under his shirt! After all, your hair is really short! I was confused!_ " he lied, in his usual sincere tone, which made him sound idiotic and truthful. Liz looked at him for a few seconds before she fell to the ground in an over the top manner. She got back up and began nagging him about how her hair was short because she liked it that way and that he could simply have asked.

" _Anyway, i have something to do... After all I'm the Great Holy Knight of Danafor... I'm sure something there is some mission that can keep me occupied!_ " he said, with a huge grin on his face.

" _In that case, I'm tagging along... It's the least you can do after all!_ " she said, a malicious smile began growing on her face as she thought of what she could do if he said no. She honestly wanted him to refuse so she could exact her revenge without feeling too guilty about it and if he agreed she use this time to escape somehow. But, Meliodas was more than happy to oblige, in fact, it seemed he planned for her to go with him.

" _Sure thing, but, first you should get changed! May i recommend this bard outfit? Or this belly dancer outfit?_ " he said, laughing to himself! Liz's temper finally got the better of her and she placed Meliodas in choke hold and dropped to ground. Meliodas stared at her, and for a second he smiled. This feeling seemed vaguely familiar to him and he was happy in the current situation. However, he soon found it hard to breath as Liz continued to tighten her arms around his neck. He chuckled and began pulling Liz's arms off of him, he turned around, crossed his arms and looked down at her with a condescending smile.

" _Go get dressed please, but, hurry up... We don't want to get there late... After all it's going to rain!_ " he said, pointing towards the dark, cloudy sky through the window. She began to understand his personality, his way of thinking and what he valued. On the surface, he seemed to be a happy go lucky guy who didn't think all that much, but he really took things seriously when it involved his own benefit. This was how she saw him, and she wasn't surprised considering her experiences with other humans. In fact, it's what she had come to expect. She left the dining room to get changed and locked the door. A few minutes pass and she returned to the room wearing the trademark attire for any knight of Danafor. Meliodas had a huge smile on his face and gestured for her to follow him.

" _Wandle, you stay here and house sit!_ " he said, turning his attention to a multi-coloured bird.

" _Alright, but, don't you dare do anything our not supposed to with Liz!_ " said the bird. Liz stared in shock as the bird spoke, confused as to how a bird could even do that... And with such a mastery over the human language?

" _How... How did that bird speak?_ " she asked... Still not over what just happened.

" _No idea... Anyway, let's get going, the others are waiting!_ " he replied, eager to get going. She was also rather eager, considering she knew that going on this mission would be her chance to escape.

Her desire to get outside quickly overwhelmed her as she ran passed him, opened the front door and made her outside into the streets of the kingdom. Meliodas followed quickly behind her, passed her and gestured once more to follow him. She did, running closely behind him as he went through narrow streets, the main road and finally through a building. They made it to the kingdom's capital, the castle, and they both began wheezing out of exhaustion.

" _Now that you know the way here, we can race from now on..._ " he chuckled.

 _"I'll win if we race... But... That was pretty fun..._ " she said, smiling and still wheezing. Suddenly a large man, clad in armour appeared from the castle. He was one of the largest humans Liz had ever seen, not to mention intimidating. She shuddered as he approached, feeling uneasy about the look she was getting from him.

" _Sir Meliodas... What is SHE doing here?_ " the man asked, putting an lot of emphasis on the word "she". Liz had forgotten why she had arrived in Danafor in the first place, but, was quickly reminded by the man.

" _Well... She isn't a prisoner is she? I'm taking her on a mission with me!_ " Meliodas stated, looking straight up at the man.

" _I'm aware of the arrangements you made with the king, but, i think she should at least be watched under more supervision, she can't be trusted... I believe it would be beneficial to kill her now._ " he said, in a stern voice. He interlocked a serious look with Meliodas... Before a few unexpected guests came by.

" _Surprise!_ " another knight said as he jumped onto the large knight's back.

" _You should not question Sir Meliodas, Orgoglios!_ " said a very short knight.

" _YOU FOOLS! I swear on my pride as a knight that she will bring nothing but chaos to us!_ " yelled Orgoglios. He turned and stormed off, bumping into another meek looking knight.

" _Ouch! S-s-sorry..._ " he muttered, before running past Sir Orgoglios and meeting up with Meliodas and company. The three knights were a peculiar bunch, but, at least they were loyal.

 _"So... Liz, let me introduce you to my team, which you will be joining!_ " Meliodas said, gesturing to the three knights who were huddle together and seemingly drawing straws.

" _My name is Sir Prise, pleasure to meet you!_ " he said. A blonde haired, handsome knight and an never-ending smile on his face. He stood at 1.80m tall, the average height for adult male. Other than his ridiculous personality and humour he seemed to be an average knight. Although he was large and moderately muscular, he had a set of small dagger on his belt.

" _My name is Sir Cain, it is also my pleasure!"_ he said. He was a much shorter knight, around Meliodas's height, who always wore his helmet. He had a hot temper, but, remained one of the most loyal knights of the kingdom. Cain's weapon of choice was a short sword, similar to his captain's.

" _Good morning... My name is... Sir Ray... Ah sorry, i drifted off there!"_ he said. He stood in between the two other knights in height and had a similar hair cut to Liz, except his hair was blue. He was a timid individual, who spent most of his time apologising and trying to overcome his shy nature. He had a rapier sheathed on his right side.

" _Hi... Um, so these guys are my teammates?_ " she said, they really were a peculiar bunch, captain included. She glanced over at Meliodas who had been staring at them all for a while now, with a proud look in his eyes. Liz was shocked he was proud to fight alongside people where undisciplined and unruly, contrary to what the kingdom she belonged to taught her.

" _So... Orgoglios is at it again huh? Well, regardless... Let's set out on our mission immediately!_ " he said! Apparently this was not the first instance of this happening. Meliodas had already planned ahead, however, as the three knights were suited up and ready to go. He gestured towards Sir Ray and began whispering in his ear, Sir Ray then handed his sword over to Liz, who was surprised to see them hand her a weapon.

" _HEY! NO FAIR! I'm the one who usually comes up with the surprises... How dare you steal my wow factor!_ " said Sir Prise, flailing his arms around and jumping on the spot.

" _I'm sorry..._ " said Sir Ray, in response to Sir Prise's sudden outburst. A drop of sweat ran down Liz's face as she realized they were quite the unstable bunch, nevertheless she had to go on this mission... Especially if it gave her a chance to escape. The group then gathered themselves and followed Meliodas to the kingdom's eastern gate. The group then stopped and nervously awaited the next step of their mission.

" _As you know, our mission is to deal with a large pack of werewolves that have been sighted a few miles from the kingdom. I believe it goes without saying that these opponents will be more ferocious than ordinary humans and so you must be vigilant. I also believe it should be noted that whoever requires saving during this mission will be forced to eat an entire plate of my cooking, so be wary of your surroundings!_ " he said, to insight fear into the hearts of, not only the knights, but Liz as well. Liz really didn't want to taste his terrible cooking again, last time she swore she almost died. Suddenly, the gates opened and the 5 companions left the kingdom. However, a large cloaked individual was seen following them on horseback.

A few hours later, they arrived at a clearing where the wolves were sighted and dispersed in order to look for clues. The group worked very thoroughly and found no clues pertaining to the incident, grouping back up and discussing their next course of action. Before they all left the area to continue their search, they realized they were missing someone, where was Sir Meliodas? They all looked around, until they stopped to glance over at the far end of the clearing. Three werewolves leapt into the clearing, prepared to battle and looking bloodthirsty. Their pitch black fur was stained with blood and the group suddenly found themselves on guard and considering the worst case scenario for their comrade. The wolves roared at the knights of Danafor and charged them, the three knights were unafraid of their opponents however and stepped forward to face them.

" _I got the first one!_ " said Sir Prise, who pulled out a small dagger and jumped towards the werewolf. The wolf launched itself towards him, hurdling it's large arm towards him in order to slash the knight. It connected Sir Prise's side and the knight was cut into three pieces. Liz stared in shock as one of the three knights had been defeated in a single attack... Until!

* _ **Surprise Strike**_ * yelled Sir Prise, as the pieces of him that were slashed turned into dust. He then appeared on the wolf's back and stabbed it in it's nape, killing it instantly.

" _My ability 'Illusion' is capable of tricking all of my friends and foes to maximize the amount of people I can surprise!_ " he declared, looking back at Liz who was completely dumbfounded.

" _I'll take the second one!_ " said Sir Cain. Using his ability 'Blaze' to set the wolf on fire and burning it to cinders. Cain was not one to mess around, unlike Prise. There was only one wolf left, but, it seemed wary of the knights now, unwilling to fight. It slowly backed away, towards the tree line they jumped out of. The wolf was suddenly split down the middle as Sir Meliodas appeared behind it and walked through the falling corpse. The wolves had been dealt with easily and the knights found themselves at ease.

" _Guys, I found out where the wolves are staying... So we can go take them out now!_ " he said. He turned around and gave Liz a slight wink, as if to imply that both he and the others were no pushovers. Liz realized she needed to step her game up and take out a few wolves as well, in order to deceive them enough to make her escape.

The group found themselves at a large mountain, in the center of a forest. There were many large holes in the wall, carved with precision and blazing with light. The wolves perked their heads out of the holes as the scent of blood attracted them to the knights. Whilst the wolves left their holes to attack, the knights brandished their weapons, Liz included. The werewolves hit the ground at high speeds, causing large craters to appear in the earth. They collected themselves and darted towards the group, making sure to corner them for every direction and wear them down slowly to minimize their losses. The knights each took a direction and braced themselves for impact.

Sir Prise was once again cut in half, only to surprise the wolves and strike them cleanly and efficiently. Sir Cain set all the wolves he fought ablaze and Liz attacked the wolves with the sword she was given, killing a few by stabbing in their vital organs. Sir Meliodas decided to fight the main group of wolves quickly, taking one down with each swing and leaving the remainder scared for their lives. Sir Ray, on the other hand, walked calmly towards another large group. They began snickering at the meek knights display and attacked him mercilessly. Sir Ray brought the blade of his rapier to his face and took an dueling stance. He then thrust his blade through the pack of wolves cutting them all to shreds.

" _I'm sorry, but, you attacked me... And sealed your fate!_ " he said, glancing over to another group of wolves with a cold look in his eyes. He brought his sword to his face once again in preparation for the next attack, which came from the right, his apparent blind spot.

* ** _Absolute Freeze_** * he said, swinging his sword to the right and freezing all of the wolves. He then proceeded to tap the ice with his sword and watched the large structure crumble to the ground. His cold gaze turned his attention to where Liz was fighting, where she was struggling to fight all of the wolves at once.

* ** _Ice Lance_** * he muttered, creating a large spear of ice and hurling it towards a werewolf attempting to attack Liz from behind, piercing it through the side and launching it towards a large boulder. Liz turned her head in shock, but, quickly composed herself and continued to kill her share of wolves. She did not display any form of magic, but, her skills with a blade were quite impressive... Especially for assassination purposes. The knights were progressively thinning the number of werewolves, until a much larger one jumped from the mountain and landed harshly on the ground. The sheer power of his jump shattered the ground and sent a shock wave that sent Cain, Prise and Liz flying. Meliodas noticed the stronger wolf and darted towards him, he was surprised when the wolf dodged him and sent him flying into a large number of trees. Meliodas did not sustain any injuries, however, he was side tracked from the wolves when he sensed another strong power level arrive nearby. The wolves began attacking the knights in a blood curdled frenzy as the sight of their fallen comrades had created a deep hatred for the knights. Before continuing to fight, the wolves allowed the largest one to pass them and speak his mind.

" _I am Wulfric, King of the werewolves and soon, i will be your death!_ " said the werewolf king. He then attacked Sir Prise, who obviously used his trademark attack, but, was caught off guard when the werewolf king turned around and smashed him into the ground. Next up Cain attacked him, using fire to his advantage and burning the floor around his opponent. He followed his strategic manoeuvre with a flurry of fire balls, to which the werewolf king responded by jumping incredibly high. He landed behind where king was standing, grabbed him and threw him into large mountain a few kilometers away.

" _You will be my next victim, girl!_ " he said, reaching down to grab Liz. She was a warrior at heart and to be defeated by a werewolf was not on her agenda. She dodged the king's grab and slitting his wrist, forcing him to bleed out slightly. The king backed away slowly, laughing at the girl's foolish attempt. He then lifted his hand and signaled for his fellow wolves to attack the girl, with no response.

" _Why do you disobey me you fools?!_ " he roared, forced to turn around and behold the horror that awaited him.

" _I'm sorry, whilst you were fighting my friends i took the liberty of killing all of your subordinates!_ " said Sir Ray. He then moved next to Liz and placed his sword in front of his face, awaiting the king's attack.

" _What about the others? They were sent flying, are they okay?_ " she asked, showing signs of affection to her captors. After going on the mission, she seemed to care for these knights... After all, they were all kind... even if they were all a little odd.

" _I'm sorry i was unable to save them, however, they will be fine... I can guarantee that. Captain is the strongest we have, Cain is very durable and you never know what Prise will do next. I'm sorry i cannot give you an answer and that my first appearance may have been slightly misleading, but, i am the second strongest person on this team and i will gladly help you fend on this guy!_ " said Sir Ray, in a dark, sinister tone. He was shy until he was on the battlefield, because that's where he felt the most comfortable. During a fight, he became a cold person who would cut down his enemies relentlessly. This was the reason he was usually not allowed to fight in large scale battles.

The forest was then filled with a crack of lightning as a heavy rain descended from the heavens, it was as Meliodas had predicted a while ago, it had began to rain. The forest floor was quickly dampened, Cain's fire was put out and the animals that were nearby began to seek shelter underneath the trees. The rain was an obvious advantage for Sir Ray, considering his ice magic, however he also had to take into consideration Liz was next to him.

" _Fool! You think you can defeat me? I can use the rain to hide my presence. I am the werewolf king and i will NOT be killed by the likes of you..._ "he declared, until he was interrupted by Sir Ray. The latter had sliced his ear off whilst he was yelling at them, because he was not paying attention.

" _I'm sorry, but, I could not resist... You were wide open._ " he said, prepping himself for another strike.

" _Don't count me out just yet!_ " said Liz, who ready herself for an attack as well. This was followed by the werewolf king attacking them in a fit of mindless rage. He swung aimlessly attempting to brutally end their lives, but, to no avail. The knights then began their counterattack! Liz ran behind the werewolf king and chopped of his tail, whilst Sir Ray ducked under one the wolf king's slashes and thrust his sword deep within the king's chest. However, he missed the vital organs and the king rose up from his wounds and attempted to grab the knight. Sir Ray smiled, waiting as Liz cut off the werewolf king's arm before it could grab him. He then proceeded to use his ability 'Blizzard' and freeze his opponent, instantly killing him.

The two knights looked at the amount of werewolf carcasses laying on the ground in dismay that there were so many werewolves attacking the nearby settlements. They could believe that more than 100 of them had gathered in a single place under the rule of one alpha male, it was practically unheard of for them to do that. Even so, there were more pressing matters than thinking about the number of werewolves, the two knights that were sent flying needed to be found and taken care of.

" _I'm sorry, but, could you stay here and wait for the captain? I will g-g-go get the others and bring then back... I think C-C-Cain was thrown quite far thought, so i won't be back for a while!_ " he said, in his usual timid tone. After all, the battle was over. He rushed over to Sir Prise, who was laughing at the shock he got when the werewolf king predicted him. He then placed him over his shoulder and went to find Cain. Liz stood in the clearing, smiling, rethinking her decision to return to her own kingdom... Never had she had this much fun on a mission, let alone become friends with the people she called comrades. She had truly grown attached to the three knights, but, her feelings for Meliodas remained a mystery. It was then that she was struck in the side by a large mace, luckily it was not spiked. She turned to face her attacker only to realize it was Orgoglios, the knight who wanted her executed.

" _Meliodas and the others are not here to protect you now... I'm going to enjoy this_!" he said, waving his mace around attempting to hit Liz. She thought about where she could go, would she search for Sir Ray or Sir Meliodas? Neither of them were close by, she was sure of it... Was this her punishment? Having a the greatest experience of her life and then have it taken from her? She would not stand for that! She pulled out her sword and attack Orgoglios without mercy, however, his body was clad in layers of plate armour which her sword could not pierce. He grabbed her sword and threw it to the ground, watching, as she fell backwards. Her eyes showcasing her despair as he lifted up his mace and brought it down on her head.

* ** _Bang_** *

Liz lifted her head after hearing the loud noise, expecting to be in the afterlife, but to her surprise she saw something even more astonishing. Meliodas had noticed Orgoglios's presence nearby and went looking for him, to find out why he had followed them. Upon finding hi attacking Liz he quickly intervened and blocked Orgoglios's mace with his head. He, now had something else he wanted to ask the large knight before he started to pummel him!

" _You mind telling me what you're trying to do Orgoglios?_ " asked Meliodas. His usual calm tone had been replaced with a serious one. His eyes no longer expressed his joy, but, his hatred.

" _I'm removing this woman from existence, there is no reason for her to be kept alive!_ " he replied. Swinging once again past Meliodas's head to attack Liz, however he was once again stopped by Meliodas, who caught the mace this time. He gazed at Orgoglios, his eyes reflecting his anger and his hand crushing Orgoglios's mace. The latter jumped back and began activating his ability, but, before he could Meliodas appeared in front of him at lightening speeds.

" _You hurt someone dear to me... That is your sin!_ " he declared before punching Orgoglios in the stomach and sending him soaring through the sky. After he defeated Orgoglios with a single punch, he rushed over to Liz. She had fallen unconscious after witnessing her assailant being flung for miles. Meliodas sighed as he picked her up and placing on his back. Sir Ray appeared a few minutes later holding both an injured Sir Prise and Sir Cain under each arm.

" _Sorry it took me so long, but, Cain was smacked quite far away_!" he muttered.

 _"Don't sweat it, Ray... After all we managed to complete the mission, with minimal injuries right?_ " he replied, pointing towards the two knights he was holding. He then informed the knight of what happened.

" _Sorry, i might be wrong but... Didn't Orgoglios go everywhere on horseback? I wonder if we could find it?_ " suggested Sir Ray. The two agreed and went searching for the man's horse and found it quite easily. They put all three of the injured knights on the horse and set out on their return journey to Danafor. It took a few hours, however they managed to make it there without any interruptions.

* * *

" _Ray, take those two to Sir Jun... I'll take care of Liz._ " he said, with a smile. Once again picking Liz up and carrying her away. Sir Ray nodded in agreement and left towards the castle, whilst Meliodas carried Liz back home. He took the same road as this morning, walking down all the narrow streets and arriving at his home. He opened the door and was greeted by Wandle, who noticed the unconscious Liz and began scolding him. He reassured his companion that nothing happened and continued to walk upstairs, placing her on a bed and covering her up. The next morning she woke up and began looking around in case Orgoglios was there. Instead she found Meliodas sleeping at the foot of the bed. Wandle came in seconds later and began explaining everything that had happened.

" _He slept at the foot of your bed to make sure you would be okay last night, he really considers you important doesn't he?_ " he said. Her eyes widened as her gaze strayed from Wandle and turned towards Meliodas. She began to blush and rose from the bed, looking out the window towards the sunrise. Meliodas woke up as well, rubbing his eyes to imply he had not gotten much sleep. He turned to see Liz staring at him in an overly cute manner, the sun shining behind her. He smiled at her as she confirmed what Wandle had told her... He nodded in agreement and she began to cry. Never had anyone done anything this nice to her, she was overwhelmed by joy as she let loose the waterworks.

" _Why are you so nice to me?_ " she asked. Wiping the tears from her eyes. Meliodas stood up, walked towards her and gave her a hug.

" _That's because your important to me!_ " he said, his words ran deep through Liz's heart and continued to make her cry. This emotional moment for Liz was the first time she had ever been shown such kindness and she was hoping it would last forever, as it felt amazing. The two knights looked at each, smiling, one with tears rolling down their face and one with his eyes slowly glancing down. Liz noticed his gaze drop and also looked down, to notice he was groping her again. The emotional situation was suddenly broken as Liz let out her rage.

" _YOU PERVERT!_ " she yelled! Grabbing her sword and chasing him down the stairs.

 _"Love you too, Liz!_ " he said, running down the stairs and laughing to himself. They both burst through the front door and ran into the rest of the group. Liz stopped attacking Meliodas and looked at the other knights, they stared at her in an odd fashion.

" _He groped you didn't he?_ " asked Cain.

" _Y-yeah!_ " she replied, staring at the knights as both Sir Prise and Sir Cain handed over a few coins to Sir Ray.

"I _'m sorry to take your gold, but I always win bets like these, you guys never learn!"_ He said, cheerfully.

" _Do we have another mission?_ " asked Meliodas.

" _Yup, and it's a big one... We get to go to Camelot!_ " said Sir Prise. All of the others were fit to go and ready for battle and Meliodas was as well. Meliodas turned around to face Liz.

" _You're coming too right? If so get changed!_ " he said, a smile plastered on his face as he winked at her. She smiled, sheathing her sword and running back inside, she began changing quickly as to not keep the others waiting.

" _How much do you guys bet the captain will fall in love with Liz? I bet 15 that it takes a week!_ " said Sir Cain.

" _I'll bet 20 that it takes 3 days!_ " said Sir Prise.

 _"Sorry... But, I won't bet in a game I can't win!_ " said Sir Ray.

" _I'll bet 50 gold coins he already has!_ " said Meliodas, swooning as she walked through the door.

This was the start of a beautiful relationship between both Meliodas and Liz and it would all take place over the next few months. A never ending love for each other that blossomed from their shared experiences.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Diane x Hauser


	7. A Surprise Visit!

If you ever met the woman of your dreams, would you tell her? What if you knew she loved another man? Would you tell her anyway? What if she didn't feel the same way you did? What is she took your confession badly? These were all questions that had plagued Hauser's mind ever since he had met Diane in the Vaizel Fight Festival. Back then he was impressed by her strength, but, after seeing her kindness towards Zeal, himself and Guila, he had truly seen her in a different light. He was in no condition to move since that day, actually he was recovering from a large wound he had suffered. He was unexpectedly healed during the fight between Hendrickson and the sins, which he believed to be a miracle.

* * *

Hauser's was confined to his room whilst he was recovering and had almost no visitors, his parents, Gilthunder, Griamore and the princesses came to visit him and that was to be expected at the very least. However, he could hear the sound of footsteps in the cobblestone hallway, they resonated throughout the building leading Hauser to believe that someone else was expecting visitors to cheer them up. The sound of steps suddenly changed as a delay could be heard before every second step, almost as if the person in question was skipping. After having heard both walking and skipping, Hauser deduced there were two people walking through the cobblestone corridor, however he was interested in knowing who they were. Hauser moved his body, sitting up in his bed awaiting the sound to be explained to him. He was considering leaving the room to confront the sound and see who was making it, but, assured himself that was not in his best interest. The sound soon stopped resonating throughout the corridor as he began to hear talking outside of his door. He could tell that one of them was Princess Elizabeth, but, the other one he could not hear that well. The door soon opened and Elizabeth walked in, carrying some sunflowers.

" _Good morning, Hauser! How are you? Margaret brought you some sunflowers in the hopes you would get better._ " She said, placing the sunflowers in a vase. The kingdom of Liones strongly believed that sunflowers and anything affiliated with the sun were sign of life and thus would heal wounds faster and save people in the grasp of death. He smiled in appreciation, however he was positive that there was two people outside his door a second ago, so he tilted his head towards the door. Elizabeth noticed his actions, applying the finishing touches to her floral arrangement. She then looked towards the door and gestured her hand, in a way which conveyed for the person to "Come in".

The person who appeared from behind the door was the Serpent's Sin of Envy, Diane. Thanks to Merlin's magical item she was able to shrink herself in order to attend the festival later that day, however she wanted to make sure Hauser was alright, before she went to ask King. She walked through the door, into the room, holding a 'Get well' card and blushing slightly. She smiled towards both the other people in the room, however, Elizabeth had to meet up with her father to discuss something important for after the festival, therefore leaving Hauser and Diane alone.

" _I heard what happened... Are you OK? The doctor said you were fine, but, i needed to make sure..._ " she said, frantically. She was eager to know that Hauser was okay, after all he had saved her from the knights of Liones, alongside Guila. She owed him a fair bit.

" _Yeah, i'll be fine... Thanks for coming to check up on me!_ " He chuckled. Seeing her blush made him laugh, considering it was for his sake she was concerned. He noticed her move over to the vase, where she proceeded to place the card and turn to face him.

" _Thanks for standing up for me, the other day... I appreciate it! You didn't have to do that and i know it must have been hard to attack your friends and all, but... *deep breathe* thank you!_ " she said, using her hair to cover her blushing face. Hauser looked up at her and, as his eyes widened, his smile grew.

" _Hahaha, well i only did what i thought was right... No need to thank me for that!_ " he chuckled.

" _Wha...What are you laughing about? You almost died!_ " she yelled, grabbing his shirt and shaking him around. Even in her human size, Diane's monstrous strength was easily higher than Hauser's and he could feel the difference. What Diane believed to be slightly shaking Hauser was in fact quite a lot more violent for him, as he began experiencing light headedness and passed out. When he awoke he saw Diane, sat on his bed, panicking and unsure of how to wake him up. He had only been unconscious for a few minutes although that was long enough to make Diane worry.

" _Ah, i thought you died for a second!_ " she stated, tears welling up in her eyes.

" _No, you just don't know your own strength... Haha!_ " he said, laughing nervously. Diane's strength was only cut in half, not to the point where she could do something like that without consequences. Either way, she didn't care all that much and remembered her card. She reached over to the vase, opened it up and gave it to Hauser with an adorable shine in her eyes.

" _T-thanks!_ " he said, opening up the card and beginning to read it. Upon finishing the card he turned to Diane and smiled, holding it up and staring at her.

" _They don't teach you how to write in the giant's clan do they?_ " he asked, pointing at her atrocious handwriting and grammar. This caused Diane to blush intensely to the point where she hid herself behind her hair.

" _It was the first time i was using a quill, leave me alone... Besides, i do know how to read and write cause someone taught me!_ " she replied, muffled slightly by her hair.

" _Either way, i appreciate the gesture..._ " he responded, patting her on the head and chuckling to himself. He then placed the card on the table and made sure it was half open. Whilst she turned her head slightly as he patted it.

" _Stop patting me on the head! It's embarrassing to be treated like a kid!_ " she yelled, surprising Hauser and making him feel bad for crossing the line. He did not realize his actions could be perceived as condescending, he thought he was being considerate. That was usually the case with Hauser though, hence why he had yet to find a woman. Diane swung around, her cheeks once again puffed up as she looked at Hauser. A sinister grin came across her face as she pounced on him and put him in a choke hold, all the while patting him on the head with her free hand.

" _See, it doesn't feel too nice does it?_ " she asked, well aware of the answer. She then heard Hauser mutter a few words, without actually understanding them because she was choking him to death. She loosened her grip as he began gasping for air, this time he was the one annoyed.

" _WHY THE HELL DID YOU TRY AND CHOKE ME?_ " he screamed. His throat was still sore after undergoing Diane's treatment.

" _THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR PATTING ME ON THE HEAD!_ " she replied, feeling extremely proud of herself. She quickly jumped from the bed, patted herself off and looked down at Hauser, her mouth slightly tilted to the right side of her face. She seem to feel guilty for nearly killing him twice, but, perhaps that was just Hauser's imagination. He then saw her glance at the card he had in his hand and thought to himself how much of a dunce he had been for picking up on the faults. That must have ruined his chances with her. He decided to man up and apologize, but, as he turned to face her, he encountered a bizarre sensation in his body. From nowhere he could feel Diane's soft, sweet lips lightly kiss his cheek. His heart was pounding as withing seconds he had been kissed by the woman he loved. He did not know what to do in the situation, so he just allowed it to happen. She returned to her original position, placing both of her hands behind her back and blushing ever so slightly.

" _Well... Thanks for saving me back then... I guess i should go now, after all the festival is starting and i still need to ask King to go with me!_ " she declared, as she turned to exit the room. Hauser was in shock that she kissed him on the cheek. Once he had overcome the shock he reached out to her with his voice.

" _What was the kiss for?_ " he asked, a curious expression grew on his face as he began to lean up in his bed. Diane turned her head to face him and with a slight blush responded...

" _That's my thank you, considering the card is illegible!_ " she replied, turning her face slightly more towards the door as she continued to leave the room. After exiting the door she turned around one last time, peaked her head through the door and with an incredibly large grin she stated...

" _After all, we're friends right? And friends deserve proper appreciation every now and again!_ " she declared, before skipping away from the room and trying to find King.

Hauser did not know how to handle the last 5 minutes of his life. His vision was slightly blurred and his thoughts in disarray, although he could still reminisce about this day in the future, after hearing about King he couldn't confess to Diane. After all, she loved another man, whilst he was just a friend. He thought about this instance and what had happened to him a few days ago through the night, even on the roof of the hospital when the fireworks were being lit for the festival. He stared at the sky, until he broke the silence with a smile and a simple though...

"Y _ou may love King... But, I will never stop having feelings for you, Diane... After all, when a man is in love his heart takes over his mind!_ " he whispered, curling his body into a ball and watching the firework display onto the rooftop. The sky was clear, the moon was bright and the kingdom of Liones would return to the way it once was... A peaceful kingdom protected by the seven deadly sins.

* * *

 **Next Chapter** : Gilthunder x Margaret


	8. A Sweet Proposal!

Gilthunder was a knight of Liones, proud and loyal to the kingdom, however his loyalty was to the king and not the man known as Hendrickson. He had been pretending to be Hendrickson's most loyal pawn for as long as he could remember, always eager to get revenge on his father's murderers and always hunting the Seven Deadly Sins. He was well aware that the sins were innocent, but, to guarantee princess Margaret's safety he had no choice but follow orders. They had been good friends since they were kids and had romantic feelings for one another. After she appeared on the battlefield and rushed towards him, he was shocked, speechless, all the emotions he had been bottling up resurfaced as he darted towards her with open arms. The two were overjoyed to express themselves though Gilthunder would later take up arms against the demonic form of Hendrickson and find himself on the losing side of the battle. It was thanks to Meliodas and the sins that he was able to survive the fight and dedicate himself to the kingdom as his father would have. The knights of Liones were all pardoned for believing Hendrickson and Dreyfus's lies, Gilthunder included, and were told to dedicate themselves to the kingdom as "punishment". Gil realized that the kingdom would be holding a festival in the next few days, and suddenly his mind was filled with a few ideas. He then asked the king if he could speak with him privately, as something important came up.

* * *

Over the course of the next few days, the festival was being prepared and Gilthunder had also gone through a great deal of trouble in order to be prepared for something special. He arrived at Liones castle the day of the festival and politely asked to see princess Margaret. He was escorted to her chambers, where she opened the door to her surprise guest. They locked eyes, smiled and quickly turned their gaze towards the woman who had escorted Gilthunder into the castle.

" _Could you please give us some time alone!_ " Margaret asked politely. Her smile remained as she spoke to the woman, as was to be expected of the next queen. The woman bowed her head and headed off without questioning Margaret's decision. She knew well what was going on between the two of them, as did every other person in the kingdom. Gil returned his gaze towards Margaret and entered her room. It was what you would expect from a princess's room. It was colourful, usually violet, pink and white, with fancy ornaments, vases and furniture. This was simply an observation from Gil's point of view, it did not bother him... In fact, the clean space that was Margaret's room was quite comforting. He heard the door close behind him, turning his body around to face his lover and watching as she slowly turned to face him. As she did her smile shifted slightly to one side of her face, a cheekier version of what she had before. She seem to know why Gil was in her room.

" _So, lady Margaret... I was wondering if you would accompany me to the festival today, if that's alright with you!_ " he asked, a slight amount of hesitation in his voice.

" _Of course I will! Let me get ready and we can leave!_ " she replied, a slight blush appearing on her face. Gil's face was no different as his cheeks began turning rosy. He let out a slight sigh of relief, he had not asked Margaret out in a while and was relatively rusty. It took her a few minutes to change into a more appropriate outfit for her promenade with Gil. She walked back into the room to leave with Gil, making a slight amount of noise to make him turn around. As if internally built into his brain, he turned around only to see Margaret dressed up and looking more gorgeous than usual. She had changed into a black dress with white ribbons and detail. She had also opted to wear some black high heels to add to her outfit, as they were more practical when kissing someone taller than you.

" _Wow!_ " was all he could say in response. He was baffled by how amazing she looked in her dress and was caught staring much longer than he needed to.

" _Gil, are you there?_ " she asked, concerned he had dazed off.

" _Ah, sorry Margaret... I just got caught up in how beautiful you are..._ " he said, sighing as he spoke his mind. Upon realizing he had just said that, a droplet of sweat began to roll down his face and a chill flew down his spine. He stared at Margaret for a few moments longer as she noticed her face had gone bright red.

" _How sweet of you, even if it was a little cliché!_ " she said, attempting to lighten the mood with some humour. She succeeded in creating a brief moment where Gil was able to talk, once more.

" _Anyway, we are going to be quite late if i keep staring at you!_ " he responded. It was a rather odd thing to say, although Margaret knew exactly what he meant, which made things less awkward.

" _In that case, I suggest we continue on our... Date!_ " she said, her face still bright red as she winked at him. This caused Gil's face to blush as intensely as Margaret's. They both walked towards the door, where Gil opened it for Margaret and closed it behind them. He then shifted his hand from his side, in order to grasp hers tightly. She looked over at him and blushed. The two lovers let their spirits run free as they walked out of the castle and went to enjoy the festival.

They spent most of their time roaming the kingdom and trying all the food and exquisite flavours in the stalls, the games, the crafts on display and the watch tower that overlooked the entire kingdom. That day they noticed Diane and King running around, a sweet, sincere, feeling surrounded the two as they darted from each stall with Diane excitedly trying to sample everything and king attempting to catch up. The couple could easily distinguish the pure romance between the two as they continued to walk through the streets of Liones. They saw Guila near the games cheering for Zeal who was competing against the other children. She was cheering way too loudly, which was slightly off putting for people and embarrassing for Zeal. The couple continued on their stroll bumping into more people they were acquainted with. The last two people they saw were Veronica and Griamore talking to each other, although about what they were unaware of. Gilthunder and Margaret continued their walk to where they used to converse together near an old abandoned tower. The two of them were alone and nobody barring Meliodas knew of this place, so they knew they would be by themselves for a while.

" _I remember this place, we used to mess about together all the time!_ " she said, beginning to reminisce. She began twirling around as she scanned the area. The fond memories bringing a joyful tear to her eye. She wiped the tear away gently and spun round to face Gil. He was standing, staring and shivering all at once. His face began to blush bright red as thoughts raced through his mind, his body shook more violently as his body began turning and twisting around. Margaret looked slightly unnerved by this and wanted to make sure Gil was feeling alright. He stood up and nodded that he was fine, but, his eyes seem to waver. There was clearly something on his mind and he was having a hard time telling Margaret what it was. She began looking around to see if she could spot something that would disturb Gil in the slightest, a demon perhaps? Whilst Margaret was scanning the area for disturbing things, Gil slipped his hand into his pocket. An innocent, yet meaningful act as Margaret turned to face Gil and was met with an event that shocked her to her core.

" _Princess Margaret Liones... For the last ten years i have been longing to see you. The other day, when i saw you without the demon lurking behind you, i could not express how happy i was. You're the loveliest, kindest and most beautiful person i have ever layed eyes on and i am glad, after all these years you've only grown more beautiful._ " he said, sincerity filling his heart and his words running like silk in the wind.

" _Gil?_ " she said, before she noticed his hand open and reveal a box. It was at this moment that she realized what was going.

" _Margaret, it would make me the luckiest and happiest man to ever live, if you would do me the honours and becomes my wife... Will you marry me?_ " he asked, opening the box to reveal a wonderful diamond encrusted ring. Margaret's face glew bright red as she processed everything that was happening around her. Her body temperature was boiling, her stomach in tangles and her mind all over the place, she could not think straight. It took her a few seconds to compose herself before she looked Gil, dead in the eyes and gave him an answer.

 _"Of course I will!_ " she replied, placing the ring on her finger and embracing the man she loved. The moment seemed to last forever as both parties expressed their love for one another. The never ending kiss form one lover to the other was eventually stopped by the necessity to take a breath. The two lovers gazed at one another, smiling as they realized that they were now engaged.

" _Is this what you wanted to ask my father about?_ " she asked, placing her head on Gil's chest as she awaited her answer.

" _I did, yes... I'm glad it when smoothly as well... I was pretty nervous about it!_ " he replied, placing his head on top of hers and hugging her tightly. They continued to feel the warmth emitting from each other's body until the fireworks caught their attention. The newly engaged couple gazed into the sky as the fireworks ignited the air with colourful flames. They watched them until the night was at an end, Gil escorted Margaret back to the castle. Her smile, much like his own, had not dimmed in the slightest all night. After entering through the large castle gate, Gil brought Margaret to her room where he bid her adieu.

" _Good night, Lady Margaret!_ " he muttered.

" _Good night, Sweetie!_ " she replied. Reminding him of their recent engagement and melting his heart with emotions. He left the castle, his mind fixated on his fiancé as he waltzed over to the Boar's Hat. Everyone was already sleeping, everyone except for Meliodas... He then made eye contact with Gil, whose face said it all.

" _How did it go?_ " he asked, clearly wanting to know how Gil's night out with Margaret had gone.

" _It went... Wonderfully!_ " he replied, sitting on a bar stool and day dreaming about how his day couldn't have gone any better.

* * *

 **Next Chapter** : Griamore x Veronica


	9. A Flowery Grave!

During the events at Vaizel, The quarrel between the new generation of holy knights and princess Veronica ended violently. Veronica, whilst protecting Elizabeth, landed on one of Guila's mines and exploded. The damage done was life threatening and the moments that followed were surely her last. She eventually succumb to her wounds and lost consciousness, later to be carried off by Griamore to be buried where they used to play.

* * *

The distraught knight carried her body there, blaming his own weakness and incompetence in the face of battle. After his loss in the tournament, he was less confident in his abilities and thus he lack the proper amount of focus to fight both Guila and Jericho. He considered himself pathetic, not just because he failed his duty to protect Princess Veronica, but that he couldn't protect the woman who mattered most to him. His psychological state had hit an all time low and his body was shaking at the thought of burying her and telling her father, not to mention his own. She was the light that guided him, moulded him, encouraged him... And now she was gone. He arrived at the hill where they used to play. The hill was covered in flowers, ranging in a wide spectrum of colours and was adjacent to a large forest. Each aspect of the hill reminded him of a moment in the past where he and Veronica were alone together, having fun.

The trees reminded him of the time the misfits and princesses played hide and seek. They were young and happy... Nothing seemed to bother them. Everyone took turns, but, when it was Griamore's turn he started to panic. He was usually quite bad at this game, but, so far he had successfully hidden from the seeker three times, which showed signs of improvement on his part. However, he quickly shook himself back into reality in order to find his friends. He found Elizabeth and Margaret trying to hide in a field of flowers, Hauser was found hiding in a hollow log, Gil was found in a nearby bush and Veronica was the last to one to find. The boys teased him for saving her for last, but, in fact it had just happened that way. They looked around for a few minutes and couldn't find a trace of her. The truth is, she had been hiding herself in one of the smaller trees, having climbed it despite the risk. She looked at them running around like headless chicken, causing her to laugh and slip off of the branch. As she cried out, Griamore looked up, only to find himself directly under her as she fell. He reached out his arms and caught her, falling to the ground and taking a small knock to the head. When he awoke, he noticed Veronica crying over him. She thought she had killed him considering how fast she was falling.

" _Wha! I thought you were dead... Don't scare me like that again you moron!_ " she declared, hitting him on the back of the head. She truly cared about him, as he was her closest friend. He recoiled from the hit and started panicking, obviously thinking he had done something wrong!

" _I'm sorry Lady Veronica, i won't do it again... I promise!"_ he whimpered, which seem to degrade him in the eyes of the others, but, she simply smiled and walked away. This wasn't the only thing Griamore remember either... He vaguely thought of the times they played horse back riding... Although, he was the horse... He just enjoyed spending time with her. The most recent memory he recalled was when he gave Veronica a gift, a simple gesture... Though it did receive a lot of attention.

He had been pressured into giving her a bouquet of flowers by Hauser, whom he had realized was the worst person to turn to for this type of advice. After arriving in Liones Castle where he and Veronica had planned to meet. He saw her in the distance, walked over to her and began chatting away. The two of them were in their early teens, but Griamore knew her better than anyone else. Despite Hauser's suggestion of a bouquet, Griamore had planned something a little more interactive. He had his hands behind his back during the entire conversation, until she got fed up of waiting for him to reveal what he had planned.

" _Alright, what did you have in mind? You're clearly hiding something! Show me!_ " She stated, in her firm and demanding tone. She was clearly the impatient type, but, he guessed she would say that! From behind his back, he revealed two wooden swords which had head taken from the knight's training court.

" _I thought we could go play out on the hill with these!"_ he said, smiling at Veronica whose eyes began to glisten with delight.

" _Oh cool, sword! I'm totally going to beat you!_ " she yelled. She had always wanted to have a sparring match with someone, but, her father was too busy to teach her and prevented his daughters from actually participating in such boyish events. He stated that Denzel and his children could do that, but, not the princesses. This was the first taste of sword play she had the chance to experience and she would not pass it up lightly.

They arrived at the hill, as they always did... They both grabbed a wooden sword and practised through the day. They clashed, parried, blocked, attacked and even tripped at some stages. Griamore was intent on teaching her the basics and he did, however, she was still only getting used to the idea. The last instance they practise was the ability to disarm an opponent which she mastered with flying colours. She had several techniques she could use on Griamore and they were...

The first, was to demand he hand over his weapon as she was the princess of Liones. The second was that she kneed him in the balls in order for him to drop his weapon and the last was the use of an actual move he had taught her. All in all, she was an opponent that could effortlessly beat Griamore, but, she knew that already...

Daydreaming helped ease his mind of the task ahead, although it did not make it easier. He placed Veronica's corpse on the flowery field, watching her as his eyes began to tear up. He tried to wipe the tears away, to no avail as they continued to stream from his face. Remembering the past and their strong bond had only worsened the effect that this situation was having on him. He continued to ball his eyes out as his throat dried up and his body began to shiver. He could barely contain his sadness as his body wanted to scream to the heavens and his body was in complete control. Before getting the chance to scream in frustration, he then heard something... A high pitch noise. It sounded like a bird... No a voice. He looked around to see if anyone was nearby, until he realized where the noise had come from. His gaze slowly descended on to Veronica's body, where he stared at her face in amazement... She had opened her eyes.

" _What... What happened? Am i dead?_ " she questioned, looking around to see the flowery field she used to play in. She then looked up at Griamore who had stopped crying and he sat there smiling at her.

" _Why am i... Still alive?_ " she asked, but he could not give her an answer. Instead, he chose the only appropriate thing to say...

"I _thought you were dead... Don't scare me like that again, princess!_ " he said, moving his arms around her body and giving her a well needed hug. In his embrace, she blushed as the blew petals from the surrounding flowers around them, making them feel strangely happy. They watched from opposite sides as the petals began to fall to the ground, until Veronica let loose a sigh of relief and joy.

" _You moron..."_ she replied, as tears welled up in her eyes as well and she tightened her grip around him.

* * *

 **Next Chapter:** Diane x Elizabeth!


	10. A Peculiar Pairing!

After the sins saved the kingdom of Liones from Hendrickson, the group separated to deal with a few issues they were having. Meliodas and Ban would work at the Boar's hat, King would sleep the days away, Merlin salvaged what she could from her old Lab and Gowther was nowhere to be seen. The only person who did not have much to do was Diane, after all she was a giant so people tended to avoid her. The few people who would talk to her were busy and she had done everything she had on her list. She had gone to see Hauser the other day to thank him and she had already asked King to go to the festival with her, the thing was she was just bored of waiting for it!

* * *

Diane was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed. She had found the barn were she used to sleep, however, it had been repurposed into a working barn as opposed to her room, which was sort of a bummer. She still liked sleeping outside though, but, she did miss having a soft bed of hay and a roof over her head. She sighed, realizing that ten years had gone by really quickly as she wondered about a few things. For example, when were they going to be assigned a new mission, were would they go next, when would they go and find Escanor... Thinking about it made her realized that during their fight with Hendrickson and what happened with Elizabeth that everyone had completely forgotten about finding Escanor. This just made her think back to when she first met him and how the sins struggled to recruit him... But, that's a story for another time, as of now... Diane knew she was going to sit here until the festival occurred, bored out of her mind. Once again she sighed in disappointment... It was then that Diane heard a familiar high pitch voice call out to her, to which she turned around and smiled.

" _Elizabeth!_ " she yelled, happy to see her friends face. She paused for a brief second and then stared at Elizabeth with a puzzled look on her face.

" _What are the bags for?_ " she asked, curiously. She was staring at both the bags attempting to guess what was in them, but, couldn't come up with a good enough guess.

" _You really want to know?_ " Elizabeth replied, staring up at her friend with a cheery smile. She opened up one of the bags and showed Diane what seemed to be camping equipment. The other bag had a variety of things in it such as; clothes, perfumes and a plethora of make up. After looking at both the bags, Diane looked down at her friend even more confused than before. Both the bags were completely different, which gave Diane the impression that this was a joke, but, she decided to play along knowing it would be more interesting than what she had planned anyway.

" _What is that stuff for?_ " Diane asked, lowering her head down to Elizabeth's level. Her friend was aware that this would seem confusing at first, but, luckily she had prepared for Diane to ask questions.

" _This is for a camping trip, i was going to take my best friend with me!_ " she replied, staring up at Diane and smiling. Diane became more aware of the situation, although thought to herself that Elizabeth was going with Meliodas. She then saw Elizabeth close the bags and walk towards the western gate. As she began to leave she looked back towards Diane, who had continued to sulk. She spun herself around, tilted her head and stared at Diane for a few seconds, before calling out to her again.

" _Well? Aren't you coming?_ " she yelled, which surprised Diane. She stared at Elizabeth for a few seconds and realized what she meant by her previous statement.

" _I'm your best friend?!_ " she asked, stammering her words and pointing to herself. She hadn't realized that she and Elizabeth had gotten so close... Which was probably a sign of how developed their friendship had become. Diane stood up to her full height where she towered above Elizabeth and the nearby buildings. She lowered her head and with a smile picked up Elizabeth and the bags, only taking her pills in case she needed to shrink herself down.

The two of them arrived at the western gate quickly, as Diane ran towards the gate eager to begin the camping trip. She made sure not to step on anyone as she sprinted through the kingdom, past the artisan district and stopped before bashing into the gate. Diane's excitement left a couple of fresh boot prints along the path she had taken, but, otherwise she caused no damage, which she was proud of. She examined Elizabeth's face who was taken aback by how fast a giant could run, it was clearly shown by her amazed expression and her hair being blown back.

" _Are you ok? Did i go a little too fast? Sorry!_ " Diane stated, showing signs of worry for her friend. Elizabeth shook her head in order to clear her thoughts as she produced a brush from her bag and fixed up her hair.

" _It's alright Diane, your just excited is all!_ " she replied, smiling up at Diane who responded with a smile and a fist pump. The gate was then opened for the two companions as they ran out of the kingdom and arrived at a forest's clearing. The two girls examined the clearing and agreed to split up and look for things they needed, Elizabeth looked for the ideal spot to camp and Diane went looking for food. Elizabeth then began to fix up the tent, which was fairly large in size. It was nowhere near capable of fitting Diane inside, but, it could easily house 6-7 humans. Diane returned close to 20 minutes later where she had a nice surprise as Elizabeth had stuck the tent up. She showed Elizabeth a few boars she had found nearby and the two smiled at one another. They then looked around the campsite and realized they forgot to get firewood so both of them went looking together, leaving the food at the camp.

The sun was slowly setting and the girls had yet to find any good firewood, until Diane cried out to Elizabeth who immediately ran towards her. She stared at what had frightened Diane and it sent shivers down her spine as well, it was a huge matanago mushroom. It was similar to the one that had shrunk them both at Vaizel, but, this one was a different colour and had small spots on it's head. Diane had angered the mushroom as she uprooted the tree that the mushroom was sleeping on.

" _AH! I'm sorry Mr Mushroom... Mrs Mushroom... Mushroom... Uh... Sorry I don't know what gender you are... Ha ha!_ " she stammered, whilst slowly backing away from the angered shroom. Elizabeth ran over to Diane who picked her up and darted back to the campsite, dragging the tree behind her. They managed to escape the matanago mushroom, but, they were also tired and in need of some food. Diane tried lighting the campfire with what little she remembered Matrona teaching her over 20 years ago. This resulted in a failure on Diane's part as Dolores was always the one best suited for survival skills. With a disappointed grin on her face she began to reminisce about the past. Her day dreaming was then interrupted by Elizabeth who had a solution to this predicament.

" _I have trouble starting a fire too... So i borrowed this from Merlin"_ she said that this incantation orb should produce a very bright and durable fire... However it will wear off in a 4 hours." Elizabeth said, pulling out the incantation orb and throwing it on the fire. Both girls stared in amazement as the campfire was set ablaze by the ball... Diane reached her arm over to the boars she had found earlier, stuck a large stick through each of them and put them on the fire. She had three boars in total, as she alone could eat two and she believed that Elizabeth could help her finish the last one. Elizabeth had never really heard of giant's cooking being incredible nor any mention that they could cook at all. This peaked her curiosity as she anxiously waited for Diane to finish cooking their meal.

Half an hour later, the Boars had been roasted and were set aside to cool. This gave Diane and Elizabeth a chance to talk about things that were bothering them, the next mission the sins would have and how much they were looking forward to the festival. It was in fact Elizabeth's plan to take Diane out on a day camping so they could bond more as friends and discuss why Diane had been rather down lately. The feelings that were gnawing at her had been going on for the last few days as she slowly recovered more of her memories of her and King. As a good friend and great judge of character, Elizabeth had noticed the lack of enthusiasm and cheerfulness in Diane's voice, and thus chose to set this camping trip up. Diane was very reluctant to talk about her feelings and was more interested in the feelings Elizabeth had for Meliodas. Elizabeth blushed at the thought of Diane's question and turned her head away, over to the roast pork so it looked less suspicious.

" _Is the roast pork ready yet Diane?_ " she said, changing the subject and hoping that she could avoid talking about her feelings. Diane leant her massive body over Elizabeth, leaning her arm towards the cooling delicacies and made sure they were ready to eat.

" _Yup, they seem cool enough... Just be careful as to not burn your mouth!_ " she replied, seeing Elizabeth's eyes light up as she carved a piece of meat off and ate it. Describing Diane's cooking would be fairly simple for anyone to do, as it's not terrible and yet it's not great either. To a refined palette, like Ban's, Diane cooking would taste incredibly bland as she used no seasonings or herbs to elevate the flavour of the meat. In fact, to a giant's perspective this would taste great considering they usually eat food that taste like this. To conclude, it's bland, but well cooked and overall a solid effort. After all, anything is better than Meliodas's cooking.

" _Do you like it?_ " she asked, nervously, as she chomped down on her meal and ripped one of it's legs off.

" _It's delicious Diane, thank you!_ " she replied, watching as her friend's face lit up with a huge smile. They were both enjoying themselves during a lovely sunset, where they could just relax and forget all their troubles. Both girls ate their fair share of roast pork, making sure not to waste anything and then burying the remains as to attract wild animals. Elizabeth's mind was racing with ideas of what they could do next, however, Diane seemed to have her mind set on something specific.

" _Hey Elizabeth... Isn't this clearing close to Mt. Hargeon?_ " she asked, pointing to one of the mountains off in the distance.

" _Yes... Why is that Diane?_ " she replied, pointing to the same mountain and confirming that this was the one she was speaking of.

" _Whilst on a mission with Merlin and Escanor, i got injured rather badly. On the way back, Escanor told us of an awesome hot spring whose healing properties were said to be insane... We arrived and, sure enough, the hot spring was there. It was my first experience with hot springs and it was the best bath I've ever had! We should go there!_ " she said, leaning her body in the direction of the mountain and staring at Elizabeth with puppy dog eyes and a huge smile.

" _That sounds great, Diane! Let's go!_ " she replied, watching as her friend's face lit up with joy. This was followed by a shared giggle between the girls as Diane leant down, picked Elizabeth up and ran towards the Mt. Hargeon. Diane ran through the forest quickly, failing to notice a sinister, yet familiar, mushroom lurking in the shadows.

A few minutes later, Diane arrived at the hot spring. The heat from the spring dispersed in the atmosphere and the girls stared in amazement at how soothing the bubbling water looked. Diane placed Elizabeth on the ground in front of her, as both girls proceeded to undress and get into the spring. Diane dipped her right foot into the water, the familiar feeling from eleven years ago creeping into her mind, as the rest of her body followed. Elizabeth copied her, followed by both girls letting out a sigh of relief, allowing their bodies to relax and their minds to get lost in their imagination.

Fifteen minutes passed by in an instant as the girls continued their wondrous bathing experience. The moment of peace, quiet and tranquillity was then broken when Diane started giggling once again. Elizabeth turned around out of curiosity as Diane cupped her hands and caused a massive wave to engulf Elizabeth and send her to the other side of the spring. Diane's giggling grew into laughter as she watched Elizabeth get washed away by the wave. She found this so hilarious that she was kicking her legs out of the water and causing slightly more havoc, in the form of wave, for her little friend.

Elizabeth resurfaced with a menacing smirk across her face, as she was slightly annoyed at Diane! She wouldn't dream of getting revenge on Diane for such a simple thing, however, she did feel like she could use this to tease her at some point... getting her in trouble would be satisfactory, as well. She spun herself around and transformed her smirk into her trademark sincere smile.

" _I'll get you back for, one day!_ " she stated, whilst swimming towards her large friend. Diane's laughter had yet to cease, however, she did feel slightly uneasy about what Elizabeth might have planned for her.

" _Alright! Let's stay in the spring for another ten minutes and no more then! Any longer and it'll be too dark to navigate our way back!_ " said Diane, who was slightly worried about how dark it was getting. The two nodded in agreement and went back to relaxing in the spring.

After the ten minutes were up, the two girls exited the spring, got dressed and ran back to the campsite. The reddish flame of the campfire was still burning strong, so the girls knew the general direction of the campsite. It took then a few minutes to return to their campsite, where they made sure the tent was set up correctly. After being put down by Diane, Elizabeth walked over to her bags and opened them up. Elizabeth did have her proprieties straight, though, as she asked her friend an important question.

" _Are you going to join me in the tent?_ " she asked, gesturing towards the opening in the tent and tilting her head to emote curiosity. Diane scratched her head, contemplating the thought.

" _I won't fit in that tent, Elizabeth... Even my foot would struggle to fit!_ " she replied, reminding herself why she disliked being a giant from time to time. Her head began to droop as she entered a small state of depression, to which Elizabeth was happily able to provide her with a great idea.

"Why don't you take one of the shrinking pills Merlin gave you?" she asked, watching as Diane went from depressed to overjoyed instantaneously. Diane emptied her pocket and picked up one of the pills from inside the bottle, chucking it into her mouth and swallowing the pill. Elizabeth watched in awe as Diane's clothes progressively got larger on her, as her friend's body began shrinking to human size. Diane kicked off her shoes, took off her gauntlets and removed her pigtails, letting her hair flow in the wind as she shrunk into her shirt, She pushed her leather clothes away from her, escaping through the hole where she put her head. She walked over to the tent, covering herself slightly, as Elizabeth handed her a pair of orange pyjamas. Diane smiled, waltzed into the tent and proceeded to get changed, as Elizabeth procured herself a yellow pair of the same pyjamas. Diane exited the tent in her orange pyjamas, to which Elizabeth commented how cute they looked on her. This made Diane blush as Elizabeth entered the tent in order to change herself.

Diane took this time to examine the world outside from her new perspective. Staring up at trees, rocks, mountains and more impressively her own boots. She realized just how much larger a giant was from a human's point of view and how scary she might actually look to most people. Elizabeth left the confines of the tent to get Diane, who was lost in how different the world looked like this. She had never truly taken the time to examine the world like this and from such a small size she truly felt insignificant. Her daydreams were cut short as Elizabeth tapped her on the shoulder, her encouraging and reassuring smile sending waves of confidence through Diane's heart. The two girls smiled, hugged and entered the tent or the last time.

The tent was light blue in colour and had white, fluffy pillows littered on the ground. The two large bags that Elizabeth had brought with her were placed along the back of tent and the two girls sat in the centre and started chatting about things they wanted to do during the festival. Diane, quite literally, wanted to do everything, whilst Elizabeth was satisfied with just working in the bar. More importantly, Elizabeth remembered what she had brought in her second bag, crawling across the pillow covered ground and scouring through her belongings to find what she was looking for. From the bag she took out some orange ribbons and crawled back over to Diane, whose confused expression defined her state of mind in this scenario.

"What are those for?" she asked, as Elizabeth placed them on the ground next to her.

" _Well, i thought we could do each other's hair, Diane!_ " she said. Diane was somewhat shocked at the proposal, but, she didn't want to seem rude... So she agreed. Diane took the ribbons that Elizabeth had set on the ground, shuffled her way behind her friend and started tying Elizabeth's hair up in ponytails, similar to how Diane would do her own. This was the only way she knew how to tie her hair up, however, Elizabeth didn't mind that!

" _Haha, thanks Diane! I guess it's my turn now, huh?_ " she said, budging herself to the side of Diane's body and beginning to braid her hair. This was the first time Diane had seen this style of hair manipulation and Elizabeth had somewhat mastered it. It took her a fairly long time, but, she managed to completely braid Diane's hair, to which Diane's eyes lit up, like beacons on a foggy night.

" _YAY! I LOVE IT, THANKS ELIZABETH!_ " she yelled, jumping up and down. The two girls stared at each other and started laughing loudly. Their laughter attracted the attention of the sinister mushroom they had passed earlier on, whilst running to the spring. The mushroom was not a typical matanago mushroom with the ability to shrink people, it was a hallucinogenic one which caused people to fantasize about things they wanted or things they cared about deeply. The mushroom had been holding a grudge against the girls for toppling the tree it liked since the early morning. The shroom was now perfectly positioned to exact it's revenge. The Hallucination Matango began spraying it's spores onto the tent and watched as they began seeping through the covers towards the two girls.

The girls noticed a small amount of yellow mist approaching them. They began coughing and wheezing due to the spores, leaning over to each other to make sure they were fine. After the spores had cleared from the area, the girls opened their eyes and were instantly hit with the hallucinogenic effects. They needed to make sure they were both safe, but, upon staring at each other they were surprised to see a difference.

" _?_ " both girls exclaimed, staring at one another and seeing the man they loved in place of one another. They spent a few minutes staring at one another, blushing, until Diane decided to leap onto Elizabeth and give her a huge hug.

"What are you doing here? Never mind that, I have to tell you something important!" she yelled, watching as Elizabeth's face grew redder and crawled up next to her, like a cat. From Elizabeth's perspective, she had noticed a few inconsistencies with the illusionary Meliodas, specifically that he had leapt on her and not groped her. This was an obvious, yet peculiar, point that Elizabeth made, but, she was able to discern that the Meliodas that was hugging her was, in fact, Diane. Diane could not discern the slight differences as Elizabeth could, considering she was overjoyed to see the man she loved in the tent with her.

Elizabeth began feeling uneasy with the situation, as Diane started snuggling up to her. Elizabeth reacted by hugging Diane tightly and trying to stop her from moving momentarily, so she could explain. But, Diane reacted by breaking out of her friend's embrace and kissing her on the lips. The instant their lips touched, Elizabeth darted backwards to get away from Diane... However, Diane wanted to kiss so she grabbed onto Elizabeth tightly and refused to let her go until she was satisfied. A minute or so passed as Diane's lustful desire was fulfilled leaving both girls blushing, startled and satisfied. The shock from the kiss and the after effects of the spores began kicking in, leaving the girls dreary and weary. Seconds later they fell asleep, Elizabeth laying on her back and Diane on top of her, snuggling into her chest as she did before.

Seven hours passed, the orange glow of the sun streamed through the tent's fabric and woke the girls from their slumber. Dazed from their late night antics and lack of sleep, they sat up and examined the confines of the tent. The girls were at a loss, as they tried to remember why they had fallen asleep in such a peculiar position. After several minutes of contemplating, they both gave up, stared at each other and smiled.

" _Thanks for taking me camping, Elizabeth!_ " she said, twirling her hair and laughing slightly.

" _Diane... Haha, your welcome!"_ she responded, showcasing a massive smile and hugging Diane tightly. The two girls giggled at the great time they had had together, until the lovely embrace between friends was interrupted by a sudden realization. Diane's pill had worn off and she was slowly growing back to her original height. The two girls smiled and rushed out of the tent in order to prevent any unwanted damage. Elizabeth closed her eyes, as Diane threw the pyjamas down at her, in order to put on her own clothing. After the conundrum they faced, the two friends packed up their equipment and headed back to the kingdom, skipping cheerfully along the way!

* * *

 **The End** **!**


End file.
